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The water polo community's dissatisfaction with the CIF Southern California District surfaced earlier this week before the women's tournament began.
Some coaches don't understand the purpose of a tournament that has not crowned a state champion for the sixth straight time.
This season, two of the Southern Section's strongest girls teams, Division 1 champion Corona del Mar and Division 1 runner-up Jay Sera, withdrew from the region for various reasons.
Two replacement teams were quickly found, including San Clemente, which advanced to the semifinals Friday at Mount SAC in Walnut.
So what are the main barriers to hosting boys and girls water polo state championships?
“The biggest hurdle is that the South, Los Angeles and San Diego sections play women's water polo in the winter,” said Rebecca Blutlag, CIF state spokeswoman in Sacramento. “There will be no state championships for either boys or girls water polo until all genders in all sections play in the same season.”
In parts of Central California and Northern California, girls and boys play water polo in the fall.
In Southern California, men play water polo in the fall and women compete in the winter.
In state swimming, only swimming and diving qualify for state championships in the spring.
The Southern California Regional Tournament for women's water polo will be held Friday and Saturday at Mount SAC.
Players and coaches will be motivated to win the title. The Orange County team won the Division 1 title for the sixth time in a row.
The weekend schedule at Mt. SAC for departments involving OC teams is as follows:
division 1
Friday: Foothill Mater Dei, 5. Orange Lutheran Church – Newport Harbor, 6:15
Saturday final: 2 p.m.
division 2
Friday: San Clemente-Corona Centennial, 2:30. Alta Loma-Claremont, 3:45
Saturday final: 12:30 p.m.
