Competition at the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics had a fast start this week, as teams from around the nation descended on the Bay Area, including Felton, to compete in the 2012 competition.
The pool at San Lorenzo Valley High School was one of the sites of the boys tournament Saturday, July 28, to Tuesday, July 31, and is set to host four days of girls action from Thursday, Aug. 2, to Sunday, Aug. 5.
Among the athletes competing at the Felton pool were the under-16 North San Diego Stars, coached by Kyle Smethurst.
“There are a lot of good pools out here, and it’s been pretty well organized,” Smethurst said. “There has been a lot of good, high-level games.”
Smethurst said the atmosphere of the Junior Olympics was good for his players to absorb, including watching and playing a lot of games.
Josh Moser, a coach from Pasadena, agreed.
“It’s just a great experience,” Moser said. “This is obviously the big one, and it’s the first time we’ve gotten our under-16s here.”
San Lorenzo Valley High’s water polo coach, Wally Brondstatter, is running the site for the Junior Olympics as a fundraiser for the school, which receives proceeds from admission fees and snack bar sales.
Stanford University is the official host of the 43rd annual competition. It has contracted with many pools in the Bay Area to host games for 547 teams and about 8,000 players ages 12 to 17 who have traveled to the area for the tournament.
The San Lorenzo Valley High pool will host the girls tournament from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Sunday. Schedules are posted online.
One-day admission costs $15 per person, $10 each for children ages 6 to 17 and men and women 65 and older.
For information: www.juniorolympics.com.
