Davis Water Polo Club’s spring session begins Tuesday, March 9 for new and continuing players at UCD Schaal Aquatic Center.  The session is open to boys and girls ages 14 and under, with teams in the seventh and eighth grade division as well as fourth through sixth grade.  The youth sessions will run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.  All athletes must be registered with USAWP for 2009 to participate in any practices, games or scrimmages with our club.  More information will be posted soon.

ENGLISH CHANNEL 2010:  Conquering Alzheimers one ultra at a time

This event is an opportunity to raise money for a UC Davis medical
organization run by Duke University-trained geriatrician Michael McCloud,
M.D.  The goal is to raise money for Alzheimers research and support.  This
research group supports the teaching of physicians to diagnose Alzheimers.
Both of my parents have always supported my swimming.  My mother, who has been diagnosed with advanced stages Alzheimers, did open water swims with me and was a great open water swimmer in her own right.  This swim will be done in her honor but with the goal of helping many peoples involvement with this disease.  Dr. McClouds mission is to improve health care delivery to older adults and to excite young physicians into geriatric careers.  He advises that we all strive to die young as late in life as possible.

The Swim:
On August 16th,  2010, I will be attempting a crossing of the English
Channel.  I will be swimming from Folkstone England to Calais France.  If
the Channel lets me cross I hope to complete the swim in 10-12 hours, but
just to have the honor of finishing will be accomplishment enough.  Water
temperatures will be 55-60 degrees.  In preparation, I will be swimming over
one million training yards for this 21-26 mile ultra swim.  A ten meter
fishing vessel captained by the esteemed Fred Mardle will be my largest
means of support.  Family and friends will serve as my support crew and in
the end this will largely be a team effort.

Your Donation:
You can help conquer Alzheimers and support me on this swim by donating
money to either or both funds.
For Dr. Michael McClouds fund make checks payable to:  U.C. Regents
These monies will go to support research and support being done by Dr.
Michael McCloud in geriatric medicine in regards to dementia with an
emphasis on Alzheimers.
Tax I.D. number is 94-6036494.

For event cost and support, please make checks payable to:    Doug Wright
Between the cost of the flight, room and board, our channel pilot and CSA
(Channel Swimming Association) costs this charity swim will be expensive.
Your donation will help offset these costs.

Send donations to the address below:
Doug Wright
44771 Garden Court
El Macero, CA 95618

Email:  dougbwright@hotmail.com

Phone:  530.207.7232

Your support is greatly appreciated!

www.channelswimmingassociation.com

Congratulations to all of the DWPC athletes who competed in the Los Alamitos Winterfest 2010 in beautiful southern California weather.  DWPC sent a 6th grade and under coed team, an 8th grade and under boys team, and an 8th grade and under girls team.  The 6th grade and under coed team, coached by Jamey Wright, finished fifth with an exciting win over Chino Hills Area Water Polo club. The team included Alena Alvarez, Scout Brown, Annie Fullerton, Madelyn Reeves, Moira Willams, Cameron Wright, Steven Csaposs, Mathew Dailey, Peter Blumberg, Garrett Dawson, Spencer Beckwith, Jake Taylor, and Daniel Alvarez.

The 8th grade and under boys team, coached by Tracy Stapleton, included Bradley Nicholson, Jeffrey Stark, Garrett Fisk, Graham Fullerton, Tyler Ujifusa, Chad Prizmich, Valente Dolcini, Will Beckwith, Conrad McCarthy, Ben Diamant, and Patrick Cajandig.  The team won their first three games to make it to the semifinals.  However, they faced tougher teams in the semi-final and bronze medal games ultimately finishing with 4th place out of 16 teams in the division.

The 8th grade and under girls team, coached by Steve Doten, finished second in their division.   The team was tied in the first bracket with two other teams and was able to move to the semi-final game because they kept the lowest tally of points scored against them.  This incredible defense played well again as they defeated the 680 Drivers team 7 to 6 in an exciting semi-final game. However, they lost the gold medal game to Foothill Water Polo in another exciting game 9 to 6.  The silver medalists include Marissa Zanobini, Scout Brown, Lauren Owens, Kendall Doten, Julie Zanobini, Mara Dominguez, Colby Stapleton, Madelyn Reeves, Brooke Doten, and Heather Johnson.

Some pictures from the Los Alamitos Winterfest Tournament (More pictures added below!):

DWPC will be sending teams to the Los Alamitos Winterfest Water Polo Tournament in Southern California.  This is a fun tournament DWPC participates in every year.  This year, the tournament starts in the afternoon on Friday, February 12 through Sunday February 14. Please see your team parent volunteer for more information.  Below is information on the hotel the team will be staying at.  There will be a team meeting on February 12 at 9 pm in the hotel lobby.  Draft schedules are available on the tournament website.  A team meeting will be held at 9:00 pm on Friday in the hotel lobby.

For the tournament website, click here.

For the tournament schedule page, click here.

Team Hotel Information:  Doubletree Hotel Santa Ana/Orange County Airport

201 East MacArthur Blvd.

Santa Ana, CA 92707

(714) 825-3333

Rooms are $89 per night and include breakfast and parking.  When calling, parents should reference Davis Water Polo.  Room must be reserved by providing a credit card for payment and must be made by Feb. 5, 2010.  All rooms are for Friday and Saturday night.  If people would like to extend their stay or arrive early, they should speak with the hotel reservations directly.

Hotel website:

http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/STAOCDT-Doubletree-Hotel-Santa-Ana-Orange-County-Airport-California/index.do

Below is a detailed explanation of two major changes that impact water polo clubs.  These changes are further explained in the revised “Conduct of Championships,” which is the official document of USA Water Polo that governs the ways Zone Qualification Tournaments and National Championships are operated.

First, from now on your age for USA Water Polo Zone Qualification Tournaments and National Championship events will be determined by your age on the first day of  the respective National Championship Finals competition, not the year you were born as in years past. For clarification, this date is the actual National Championship Finals competition, not the qualification competition. (example: Boys competing at the 2010 S&R Sport Junior Olympics in an 14U division will need to be 14 on July 31, 2010, similarly, Girls competing at the 2010 S&R Sport Junior Olympics in an 14U division will need to be 14 on August 5,  2010). This will allow players with formerly “bad birthdays” to complete in the lower age divisions longer if they and their clubs choose to do so.  For example, a player who turns 19 (born in 1991) in October, 2010 will be eligible to play Junior Olympics at the 18 year old age group.  This change applies to all age groups. USA Water Polo official roster verification systems will reflect these changes for all 2010 Zone  Qualification Tournaments and National Championship events. Please note that clubs that sanction tournaments through USA Water Polo are free to establish age eligibility as they desire. However, for Olympic Development Programs and FINA International Competitions, the “born in year” age grouping remains the same

Second, the date to affiliate with a single club of choice is being moved to the end of May for virtually all members (some
exceptions apply—review the CoC for details).  Club release forms will no longer be used. The affiliation process will remain open until the specified cutoff date, which is tied to respective regional zone qualification tournaments.  Specific information on the cutoff date and regional anomalies will be clearly publicized by the zone.  Last year, USA Water Polo tightened its procedures to encourage uniform club affiliation for national championship events such as the S&R Sport National Junior Olympics and Speedo Cup Nationals. The purpose behind these changes was to strengthen clubs through long-term member  association and discourage “club hopping” for short-term competitive gain.

These changes have been unanimously approved by the Zone leadership on behalf of our members.  USA Water Polo has posted the updated Conduct of Championships on its website.  For your convenience, all items that have been changed from the 2008 Conduct of Championships have been highlighted.  The revised document can be accessed by visiting the “Events” page at http://www.usawaterpolo.org/.

Save the Date

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 @ 7 pm

For the Annual Meeting of the Davis Water Polo Club

This is a great time to hear about up and coming events (such as a tentative summer schedule), the finances of the club and other club business. It is also a chance for you to tell us what you think and ask any questions you might have for the board and coaches.

We will also be voting in a new member to our board as Chris Meyer is stepping down. Current board members are Alekka Fullerton, Nancy Wright, Rhonda Brooks and Mike Johnson

The meeting will take place at DHS in Doug Wright’s classroom (A-2), at 7:00 pm.

Refreshments will be provided

The Davis Water Polo Club, 14U Boys, 14U Girls, and 12U Coed Teams wrapped up the fall session with competition with Pacific Zone teams in Moraga on November 1.

DWPC U12 Coed Team:

The U12 Coed team, coached by Jamey Wright, went 4-1-1 in the last tow days of the Pacific Zone’s Fall Speedo Cup League Fall Season.  In the first three games, Davis defeated LaMorinda A, 12-4, and Marin, 13-3, before losing to Stanford, 12-10.  Playing with no subs, the resilient Davis seven - Spencer Beckwith, Steven Csaposs, Mathew Dailey, Kevin Krupa, Madelyn Reaves, Peter Blumberg and Cameron Wright - played every minute of the first three games.  On the second day of competition, the Davis 12U coed team finished with wins over LaMorinda B, 7-4, and Marin, 6-4, before ending the day with an 8-8 tie against Stanford.  The U12s earned the tie despite trailing 7-4 going into the fourth quarter.  Jake Young, Daniel and Alena Alvarez, Annie Fullerton, Scout Brown, Moira Williams, Sean Kos and Quinn Folks provided much needed depth during Day 2, as well as scoring and defense.

DWPC 14U Boys Team:

The 14U Boys team, coached by Tracy Stapleton, concluded their fall season of play winning 5 of 8 games, wrapping up 1 and 3 in Moraga on Sunday.   The first was a tough loss to Marin 9-6, considering Davis’ lead in the first half.  In game 2, the boys easily handled Stanford B team winning 11 to 5. The last match of the day against LaMorinda B the most exciting of the 3, was  give and take up until the 4th period, our loss 8-4.  Goalie Jeffrey Stark compiled a total 9 saves for the day.  Graham Fullerton topped the goal tally with 9, followed by Conrad McCarthy chipping in 4.  Harrison Bier and Bradley Nicholson added 2 goals each and Garret Fisk, Patrick Cajandig,  Valente Dolcini and Ben Diamant contributed one a piece.

DWPC 14U Girls Team:

The 14U Girls team, coached by Katherine O’Rourke, finished the season with three wins at the Pacific Zone League tournament on November 1.  They defeated Diablo B and Stanford B twice in the one day tournament.  The 14U girls team included Lauren Owens, Mara Dominguez, Heather Johnson, Colby Stapleton, Madelyn Lilliedoll, Marissa Zanobini, Julie Zanobini, Julie Morris, Livia Morris, and Yasmin Kouchesfahani.  Scout Brown and Madelyn Reeves also played up with their older team mates, adding depth to the team.

Below are some photos of the DWPC 14U Boys team in action!

Congratulations to Menlo-Atherton High School for first place in the 2009 Northern California High School Championships held in Davis, CA on October 30-31.  The top 10 finishing teams also include Monte Vista (2nd), St. Francis Mountain View (3rd), Campolindo (4th), Clovis West (5th), Davis (6th), Sacred Heart Prep (7th), St. Francis Sacramento (8th), Castilleja (9th), and Leland (10th).  Thank you to all the parents and volunteers for their help with running the tournament.

For all game scores:

Results

Taking a quick break from leading the Davis Blue Devils varsity Water Polo team to another section title, Tracy Stapleton crafted a decisive three win series Sunday with the Davis Water Polo Club’s 14U Boys. The team won all 3 games in Saratoga as participants in the pacific division of the larger USA Water Polo-sponsored Speedo Cup Tournament, one of the most prestigious 14U Water Polo tournaments in the country.

While the margin of winning tapered with each successive game reflecting increasing competition, the statistics showed a progression of mounting defense by goalie Jeffrey Stark as he blocked four, five and seven goals attempted by the opposition with each consecutive match.

In the first game, Davis was quick out of the block, scoring 6 unanswered goals before De Anza-Cupertino-B team scored their first. By the final buzzer, Davis had dealt DACA with a lopsided 19-6 victory. Davis offense was led by Graham Fullerton scoring seven goals, followed with four goals each by Garrett Fisk and Conrad McCarthy. Single goals were scored by Bradley Nicholson, William Beckwith, Chad Prismich and Harrison Bier.

The second game against Stanford’s B Team also got off to a quick start with Graham Fullerton scoring on the first drive. Competition heated up as Conrad McCarthy was ejected early in the third quarter by reaching the 3-foul limit. Davis prevailed with a 14-6 margin of victory as Garrett Fisk dominated the net, scoring six goals, followed by Graham Fullerton scoring a hat trick, while Will Beckwith and Bradley Nicholson each scored two and McCarthy one.

Without a break, Davis boys faced off against 680-B team, a squad that had placed higher than this same Davis team at the Junior Olympics earlier this year. Davis got their revenge by forcing the 680-B team constantly on the defensive, outscoring the club 9-4. Key steals were recorded by Bradley Nicholson, Valente Dolcini ,and Jorge Aguirre, while Conrad McCarthy led the offense with five goals, Graham Fullerton three and Garrett Fisk with one.

Fullerton lead the way with 7 goals, followed by Garrett Fisk and Conrad McCarthy each with 4. Will Beckwith, Harrison Bier, Bradley Nicholson and Chad Prizmich.

Davis Water Polo Club’s fall session began Tuesday, September 8 for new and continuing players at UCD Schaal Aquatic Center.  Athletes are still welcome to participate in the fall session.  The session is open to boys and girls ages 14 and under, with teams in the seventh and eighth grade division as well as fourth through sixth grade.  DWPC is also offering a Rugrats program for boys and girls in grades 1 - 3.  The youth sessions will run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:15 to 7:45 pm (in the water at 6:30) for eight weeks, while the Rugrats run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:15 pm for four weeks.  Fees are $175 per athlete with a $50 discount for siblings.  Fees for the Rugrats program are $75 per athlete.  All athletes must be registered with USAWP for 2009 to participate in any practices, games or scrimmages with our club.

For registration and season information and to download forms click here.