Competitive Program Info & Survey: May 2024
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Vortex Water Polo Competitive Program Parent/Athlete Info & Survey
Specifically for Athletes Born in 2007 to 2011
Vortex families,
You are receiving this message as the parent/adult of an athlete who practiced with Vortex Water Polo this past season. This email provides an update on our competitive program plans for the upcoming 2024-25 season and requests your input on those plans.
Please complete the following survey by May 30th to indicate your intentions for next year: https://forms.office.com/r/by1UKyPbVz
Our plans for the 2024-25 season
One of Vortex’s long-term goals is to field competitive teams in the National Championship League. In the 2023-24 season, the club fielded teams in both 17U NCL Men’s and Women’s categories. With significant growth in our younger programs, we would like to build on our exciting first year in the league.
With the results of this initial survey, and following ongoing conversations with athletes and families, the club will have a better understanding of our membership’s interest in the NCL and other competitive opportunities.
Though the NCL is a major avenue for our players’ growth and development, there will be other competitive opportunities for our teams whether or not we field teams in the league. Vortex teams have and will continue to participate in club, provincial, and international events across Canada and the United States.
Competitive athletes should expect to play in a minimum of three travel tournaments over the season.
Water Polo Canada 2024-25 NCL update
In the upcoming season, Water Polo Canada (WPC) has announced a new format for the National Championship League (NCL). WPC is organizing two age group leagues:
- 16U, for players born in 2009 and 2010. *Formerly 15U*
- 18U, for players born in 2007 and 2008. *Formerly 17U*
- Younger players may be invited to play with any of these teams at the coaches’ discretion.
2024-25 NCL schedule *Tentative*
The following timeline has been communicated by Water Polo Canada for the 2024-25 NCL tournament schedule. Please note that no dates have yet been confirmed by WPC.
16U (West)
- Open tournament - December 2024
- Open tournament - January 2025
- Westerns - April 2025 ***TEAMS MUST ATTEND BOTH OPEN TOURNAMENTS TO PARTICIPATE
18U (West)
- Regular season tournament - November 2024
- Regular season tournament - December 2024
- Regular season tournament - February 2025
- Regular season tournament - March 2025
- Western Finals - April 2025
- Nationals - May 2025 ***TEAMS MUST QUALIFY AT WESTERNS
Cost
As tournament dates and locations are not confirmed, we cannot provide an estimate for the cost of the competitive program in the 2024-25 season.
Below is the cost for an athlete in Vortex’s competitive program who participated in all 17U NCL events this past season:
- Training fee (registration, equipment/pool rental, coaches, volunteer bond) $2470
- Tournaments (Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Surrey, Saskatoon, local games) $5350
- Total $7850 (17U NCL 2023-24 Season)
The club looks to minimize costs to families whenever possible, e.g. travelling by personal vehicles, booking flights early and as a group. Fundraising opportunities will be communicated as they arise.
Training
The NCL is the highest level of water polo competition in Canada, with participating teams spending up to 15 hours per week in training. Players wanting to play in either 16U or 18U NCL next season should
register in our competitive program (5+ practices per week) and are encouraged to sign up for the appropriate summer training camp.
Your input
Please complete the following survey by May 30th to indicate your intentions for next year:
Thank you for taking the time to respond!
See you at the pool,
Mike Reid, Technical Director td@vortexwaterpolo.ca
Julian Del Campo, Men’s Head Coach mensheadcoach@vortexwaterpolo.ca
Brenden Jamieson, Women’s Head Coach womensheadcoach@vortexwaterpolo.ca
