Valley seeks medal

May 16, 2008

The Fraser Valley Water Polo Club will hope to make a splash at next week’s 2008 Cadet Boys Canadian National Water Polo Tournament in Richmond.

Two teams from the Fraser Valley (Valley 1 and Valley 2) are competing in the event. In total there will be eight boys from Maple Ridge representing the u-16 teams.

“We have an unbelievable team, we’re definitely hoping to medal,” said Joie Kotylak, team manager of the Valley 1 team.

“It’s neat to be hosting it here especially when we have such a strong team.”

The tournament is the pinnacle of the water polo season and will see sixteen teams from six provinces compete. Leading up to the event, the Valley 1 team has played in a number of elite tournaments and done well.

“We have gone to California and Washington but this is what we work up to,” said Kotylak’s son and Valley 1 player Nathan.

The team won the California tournament.

He said a team from Quebec, ranked first for next week’s tournament, is hands-down the favourite. His team is ranked seventh, the highest of the five teams from B.C.

“We practice about four to five times a week.”

Using a ball much like a volleyball to score, water polo is a team sport that requires a high ability to swim and tread water. It is played with six players and a goalie in a deep 30-metre long pool. There are four eight-minute quarters.

“You definitely need to be a strong swimmer. You need to have a lot of endurance. People who haven’t watched the game don’t know how tough it is,” Kotylak said.

He added that the sport is very gruelling and bloodied noses are not uncommon.

“The toughest thing is that it’s such a physically demanding sport. I’ve got cuts and bruises and I know people who have broken bones.”

The tournament is significant for athletes because head coaches from the national team will be on hand to evaluate them. Tryouts for the team are held in November.

Canada has had success at the world stage finishing second and third at the 2008 Junior Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic, with its u-18 and u-16 teams respectively.

Players from Maple Ridge on Valley 1 include Cole Wagner, Nathan Kotylak and Tim Torres. Shaun Lampen, A.J. Patchett, Andres Fierro, Shawn Muller and Dano Marconato play on Valley 2.

The tournament runs May 22-25 at Watermania. Both teams have their first games on Thursday afternoon.

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Valley seeks medal

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