Sun Sets on ‘07 Competition Recaps of Speedo Top 40, Speedo Cup, and Holiday Cup Inside VOLUME 22, NUMBER 3, DECEMBER 2007 A Masters Player’s Amazing Tale What’s Inside... WATER POLO VOL. 22, NUM. 3, ® DECEMBER ‘07 FLIPTURNS USA WATER POLO NATIOnaL OFFICE ON THE COVER . 2124 Main Street, Suite 210 ® Huntington Beach, CA 92648 The sun setting during Letter from the CEO. 2 The new Water Polo Flipturns . It’s fl ippin’ awesome. (714) 500-5445 business the 2007 Speedo Top 40. (714) 500-5449 membership Cover photos by: Jeff Shewmon (714) 960-2431 fax Water Polo Times . 4 USA WATER POLO NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER 11360 Valley Forge Ave. Los Alamitos, CA 90720 National Team Update . 6 (562) 799-8506 business (562) 799-8508 fax WEB SITE 5 Meters. 36 www.usawaterpolo.org CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Christopher Ramsey In the Zone. 42 EXECUTIVE AssISTanT TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Chelsea Johnson Calendar of Events. 44 DIRECTOR OF FInanCE and ADMINISTRATION Marti Torres DIRECTOR OF EVENT PROduCTION and PROMOTION Susan Warner Hopkins Also In This Issue... DIRECTOR OF MaRKETIng and COMMunICATIOns Christine Bird Speedo Cup . 20 ManagER OF MaRKETIng and COMMunICATIOns Greg Mescall A Masters Player’s Tale . 22 DIRECTOR OF REGIOnaL SPORT DEVELOPMENt (EasT) Liz Grimes States include: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Tim Hutten . .28 Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, 2007 Holiday Cup Recap South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Hot Shots . 34 FLIPTURNS® FEMALE WATER POLO SUIT ® DIRECTOR OF REGIOnaL SPORT DEVELOPMENt (CENTRAL) FABRIC CONTENT // 85% Polyester/15% Xtra Life Lycra Joe Linehan pg8 Academic All-Americans . 40 States include: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, USA Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Indiana, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. NATIOnaL TEAMS ManagER Takes 3rd Nikki Jost MEMBERSHIP SERVICES COORDInaTOR Drew Willems Look Ahead... BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bradford Bowlus, Michael Graff (Chairman), Lynn Kachmarik, Next Issue Ed Reynolds, Rachel Scott, William Smith > A look at the Women’s NCAA EDITOR water polo season, photos from the 5th Annual Greg Mescall USA Water Polo Tournament CONTRIbuTORS Darcy Couch, Paulo Cesar, Todd Clapper, Chris Oeding, Jason Lynch, Mary Sprague, Jim Cullingham, Mary Pat Robinson, Joan Gould, FLIPTURNS® MALE WATER POLO SUIT Ed Haas, Greg Mitre, Lisa Reyes, Carroll Vaughan, James Lathrop, FABRIC CONTENT // 85% Polyester/15% Xtra Life Lycra ® Summit Photography, Sally Olds, Jeff Shewmon, Tracy Birdsell, Kevin Burke, Anderson Family, Pete Snyder, Fotos FPN, Fotos Hugo Rocha, Mirko Seifert, Rise Wendt, Michael Duffy, Holy Kiki, Gwen Golub, Michael Machnik, George Stransky, Mike Miller, Arjan Ligtenberg, Marilyn Sagehorn, Erika Figge, Steve Janisch, Tyler Davis, Debbie Villeneuve, Diane Békhazi, Chris Hatton, Randy Walters PRINTING Publication Printers 2001 S. Platte River Dr., Denver, CO 80223 | 303-936-0303 Speedo CREATIVE Adrenalin, Inc. 54 West 11th Ave., Denver, CO 80204 303-454-8888 | goadrenalin.com Top 40 pg14 Forty of the Best Hit Los Alamitos, CA USA Water Polo Skip Shot Magazine (ISSN# 00431311) is published four times per year by United States Water Polo, Inc., located at 2124 Main Street, Suite 210, Huntington Beach, CA 92648. Periodicals postage is paid at Colorado Springs, CO 80901-9998 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Skip Shot Magazine, United States Water Polo, Inc., 2124 Main Street, Suite 210, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 usawaterpolo.org 1 57756_USAWTRPOLO.indd 1 7/18/07 6:22:12 PM letter from the CEO USA WATER POLO CHRISTOPHER RAMSEY Interested in going to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics? Plan on spending a lot of money, and don’t expect to receive a confirmed ticket order anytime soon. Excursion packages and ticket availability are already shaping up as major problems for the Olympic Games, and there is no sign that the situation will improve soon. Big money and big-time sports rarely collide with water polo, but they do in an Olympic year. And there is little better reminder of how good our sport really has it than seeing greed overtake the Olympic Games. A certain counter-culture flavor has always set water polo apart, including some delicious paradoxes. Our student athletes are consistently among the best in academic performance, yet we are anything but teachers’ pets. Water polo requires incredible self-discipline and training, yet it is also meaningless without creativity. And although many water polo players might char- acterize themselves as a special breed, at its best our game requires the highest degrees of self- sacrifice and teamwork. In this month’s NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship, all of those qualities An artists rendering of Olympic competition venues in Beijing. were on display from four remarkable teams. The University of Cali- tournament was, I am convinced that we must accomplishment in an increasingly competitive fornia distinguished do everything within our power to convince the world. Training has begun and will accelerate itself by winning the NCAA to host an eight-team men’s champion- in its intensity as the year progresses. The final championship over a ship next year. Our sport – and some of the out- USA squads will be selected in June. While our favored USC squad standing programs squeezed out of this year’s elite athletes prepare, our club programs will for the second consecutive year. Another excep- championship – deserve nothing less. be in full swing for our own Junior Olympics— the largest water polo tournament in the world. tional story was the performance of our nation’s I visited Beijing in May to survey work on the We will also be offering new tournaments and midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy, who Olympic village and inspect the water polo venue, leagues in the spring and early summer. took third place over a Cinderella-story team as well as to meet with Chinese representatives. from Loyola Marymount University. The scale of work undertaken for the Olympics In all there should be an unprecedented amount Hosted by Stanford University in the beauti- is staggering. In order to reduce air pollution, I of water polo in this Olympic year. Stay tuned to ful Avery Aquatic Center, water polo fans picked was told that the Chinese government intends to usawaterpolo.org and Skip Shot to stay informed their way through tailgating alumni on hand halt industrial production and limit automobiles on all the latest developments, play with pas- to see the Cal-Stanford game at the football at least three weeks in advance of the Games and sion, and enjoy the honor of great competition. stadium next door. The Aquatic stadium was on through the month of August. packed for all of the games, and there were un- Both of our United States national teams have Christopher Ramsey forgettable moments. As good as the four-team already captured berths for the Games – no small Chief Executive Officer LETTERS TO THE EDITOR If you have a comment or question concerning Skip Shot magazine, send in a letter to the editor. You can write to Skip Shot Magazine: c/o USA Water Polo, 2124 Main Street, Suite 210, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 or send an email to: [email protected] 2 News Briefs Setting the Gold Standard….. 2008 USA Water Polo USA WATER POLO WATER POLO TIMES Annual Meeting Commit, Compete, Inspire! Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Contact Information: January 25-27, 2008 USA Water Polo Annual MeeTing Name: Zone: USAWP#: Address: Just a few short weeks after the curtain is communicating with lifted on another new year, the USA Water Polo the staff of USA Wa- City: State: Zip: Annual Meeting will be taking place in scenic ter Polo, attending Ventura Beach, California, between January critically important Meeting registration includes: 25-27, 2008, at the Crowne Plaza. workshops or just ł Attendance and Participation in Educational Workshops Telephone: Fax: conversing with fel- The meeting, which is actually a whole week- low members. end full of water polo activities, returns to the ł Refreshment Breaks Golden State after last year’s successful venture As for the meeting Email Address: ł Conference and Workshop Materials to Salt Lake City, Utah. USA Water Polo has a itself, it boasts a wide (REQUIRED) jam-packed schedule in the works for this year’s variety of activities ł Participation Gift meeting which will serve as a kickoff to what for attendees, includ- Guest Name: is sure to be a great 2008 for water polo in the ing participation in ł Meet the Olympians of the Men’s and Women’s National United States. educational work- Teams shops on the sport With the 2008 Olympics fast approaching and ł Women’s National Team Exhibition Game of water polo, a gift MEAL PACKAGES the men’s and women’s national teams having USA v. Canada for participants, a Package #1 - Welcome Reception, Saturday Breakfast and Awards qualified for Beijing, it is an extra special year. chance to meet mem- $160 Luncheon, Sunday Continental Breakfast, Add to that the usual excitement surrounding bers of the men’s and The USA Water Polo Annual Meeting is designed to meet Refreshment Breaks and Meeting Registration events such as the Masters Festival in February, women’s Olympic the Junior Olympics in July, the Speedo Cup in for the meeting include an initiative on starting your needs as a member of USA Water Polo. The Annual Package #2 - Welcome Reception, Saturday Breakfast and Awards teams, as well as free admission to an exhibi- November, and the Annual Meeting will get ev- U.S. Leagues, a forum on Masters Water Polo, a Meeting is an opportunity to communicate with the lead- $145 Luncheon, Refreshment Breaks and Meeting tion game featuring the Women’s National team workshop on increasing coaching excellence, as erything underway with a big splash.