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www.sportseventsmagazine.com September 2015 39 SPORT Report t USA Water Polo was founded in 1978 to grow the sport in the United States and feld medal-winning teams in major world championships, such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and the Pan-American Games. In that time, both the men's and wom- en's national teams have experienced success in world competition, receiving medals or placing in the top 10 at various events, according to organization data. The women's national team has been especially successful, as it is the only team in women's water polo worldwide to win medals at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, and the only women's water polo team to win three World Championships, according to USA Water Polo. To achieve this success, USA Water Polo recruits, develops and identifes outstanding athletes to place on national team rosters. "We have a level of compe- tition for every age and ability," Dodson said. Among the approximately 40,000 members the organization supports are the cadet, youth, junior, senior and development national teams, which are necessary to create a pipeline to Olympic competition. In addition, according to USA Water Polo, the organization sanc- tions events and tournaments for approx- imately 500 clubs nationwide. Building Rosters To grow membership and assemble championship teams, USA Water Polo relies on two programs, according to Dodson—Splashball and the Olympic Development Program. Splashball, a program established in 2009, introduces children ages 5-9 to water polo and to water safety. According to the organization, the intent is to allow young children to experience the fun and friendship the sport has to offer. While Splashball helps expand the reach of the sport, the Olympic Development Program seeks to identify talented athletes to assemble teams to compete at national and international events. USA Water Polo extends invita- tions to these upper-echelon athletes to be coached and trained for the highest level of competition, Dodson said. That training includes cultivating a deeper understanding of rules, techniques and physical ftness that will allow athletes to succeed. With preparation for the next level in mind, USA Water Polo has recently made rules changes. "We just this year rolled out a new set of rules for our younger athletes," Dodson said. Those changes include installing smaller goals to encourage proper shooting technique and mandating one-on-one defense. "We want to take the emphasis off the score board," she said, "and make sure athletes are enjoying their experience." Those changes were designed to make the rules more in line with international competition, which translates into value for the national teams, while also hav- ing the beneft of developing skills for younger players, according to Dodson. "We've had a number of competitions in the spring," Dodson said. "Change is hard, and there has been some push back, but for the most part the changes have been well-received." Building Community Because USA Water Polo sanctions non-scholastic competition, the organiza- tion wanted to fnd a way to connect all of the sport's athletes. As a result, the Collegiate Cup was born as a means to incorporate collegiate water polo players, said Dodson. The Collegiate Cup is a weekend competition that matches the top wom- en's water polo teams with two USA National Team squads. It serves as a preview to the NCAA women's water polo season, which begins in January. Stanford University claimed the frst ever Collegiate Cup, and the second is sched- uled for Nov. 7-8 in Irvine, Calif. "Last year was the frst event, and it was a huge success," Dodson said. "I think all the coaches and athletes liked the fellowship and seeing the competi- tion for the upcoming year." Building Coaches Carrying out the mission of developing elite athletes also means developing coaches, and USA Water Polo ►