Water Polo players take on The Americas
The Jamaican national water polo teams face one of their biggest challenges to date when they face some of the best teams in the Americas here at the National Aquatics Centre in the UANA Pan American Youth Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Championships from today through to September 4.
Ten male teams and six female teams will face off in the pool in the exciting, fast-paced game, which is re-gaining popularity in Jamaica. Water polo is popular world-wide, and its previous monikers ‘aquatic football’ or ‘water rugby’ hint at the nature of the game, which requires players to tread water while throwing the ball with a single hand.
Deejay Sean Paul was a stand-out water polo player for Jamaica in the 1990s when the island dominated in the region, so much so that he was featured several years ago in a campaign to promote water polo in the United States.
Now the Jamaican programme is at a critical re-building stage, with former national player and VP of the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica Lance Rochester guiding the programme. Rochester expects the Championships to boost both local awareness and the experience of the national teams.
“We’re really pleased to be hosting these Championships,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be able to expose Jamaicans to such an exciting sport. In addition, this type of international exposure is invaluable for our players to help them continue to improve.”
Earlier this year, the Jamaican teams won bronze medals at the Central America and Caribbean Championships in Puerto Rico in both male and female 18 and under, and 15 and under categories.
The Championships will bring together the best Junior Water Polo teams in the Pan American region and serve as the qualifiers for the FINA Youth World Championships to be held in 2016 for both men and women. The top 10 countries from the Pan American region will be vying for four spots.
Participating in the male category will be USA, Canada, Jamaica, Brazil, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, while competing in the female category will be USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago and Puerto Rico.
