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Austin, TX – A notable USA Water Polo presence has descended upon Central Texas for the TISCA Texas High School Water Polo Championships. USAWP CEO Chris Ramsey arrived on Thursday and addressed a coaches’ meeting during which he indicated the organization’s active support for the sport’s official sanction by the state’s prep sports organizing body. The University Interscholastic League (UIL) could decide on the matter as early as November. If selected, water polo would be the first sport added to the UIL’s offerings since wrestling, whose first sanctioned championship was held in 1998.
The push comes as USAWP appears to be following a new course toward actively seeking talent outside the Golden State. Men’s National Team head coach Dejan Udovicic has been explicit about wanting bigger, younger talent to develop regardless of geography. High Performance Director John Abdou is scheduled to appear in Austin tomorrow this summer, underscoring the organization’s interest in the state’s talent.
A Sun Times article touting the growth of the sport since the Illinois High School Association sanctioned it in 2001 has also caught the attention of coaches and supporters in Texas. And UIL representatives have been impressed by USA Water Polo’s advocacy and its prominence as a national governing body, according to people involved in the process.
A positive vote by the UIL could signal the end of TISCA as a water polo organizing body as early as 2015, though details of a positive vote are still unclear. The prep swim coaches’ organization has sponsored boys’ and girls’ state water polo championships since 1972. Some sentiment remains among coaches that forfeiting control of the sport to the UIL would hinder its growth, though that opinion has diminished over the past several years.
The state tournament ends on Saturday with boys’ and girls’ champions to be crowned. Former USA Men’s National Team goalkeeper Genai Kerr is expected to hand out winners’ trophies.
