Interested in staying in the pool and after the Tsunami water polo season is done???
If you love the water and enjoy the camaraderie of a team – come and join the HUMA swim club!

HUMA is a competitive swim club designed for youths aged 4 to 17, swimming at the University of Alberta’s West Pool. HUMA offers high quality professional coaching and technique instruction. Our coaches are NCCP certified and have extensive experience. As a summer swim program we run from May to mid August, with practices offered every weeknight. For further information check out our website: www.humaswimclub.com or contact Tracy Justice, HUMA Swim Club president at: tjustice@shaw.ca.

Registration for New Swimmers:
Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Time: 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Location: Kinsmen Aquatic Centre (in the spectator area near the score board)
Spaces are limited, registration will be accepted on a first come, first served basis upon receipt of the complete registration package by the Registrar (all signed forms and post dated cheques and/or e-Transfer).
If registration is full, a 2017 wait list will be started.

Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club was thrilled to host YEG Fitness at a practice in December. Be sure to check out the link to their January Issue where an article about the Edmonton Water Polo Club can be found on page 38! (Copy of the article also listed below)

https://issuu.com/yegfitness/docs/yegfitness_jan-feb-17-web

A growing number of young Edmonton area athletes are
enthusiastically diving into water polo, arguably one of the
most demanding of all sports.

Combining the endurance of elite swimming, the physicality
of wrestling and the agility of gymnastics, water polo is
played in a two-meter-deep pool which requires players to
battle for the ball without touching the bottom. Consistently
rated among the most physically demanding sports, athletes
of the Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club find that
these challenges are what make the sport fun and keep
them coming back to the pool for years. With U8 programming
all the way to Masters water polo, Tsunami gives everyone
the opportunity to play.

For Jovan Kostadinovic, Tsunami U19 athlete, water polo
has been a major part of his life for the past ten years.
Throwing his first water polo ball when he was nine, Jovan
describes water polo as an exciting and action-packed
sport. Aside from his love for water polo, Jovan describes
Tsunami as his family, not just his team.

“I’ve made so many memories in the sport that I will cherish,
not only with my team but with players from opposing
teams,” Jovan says.

Water polo is played with 14 players in the water at a time;
six field players and a goalie for each team. Similar in tactics
to basketball or handball, water polo players must strategize
and work together to advance the ball up the 25-meter
playing field in an attempt to score on the opponent’s net.
While its basic objective may sound simple, the inability to
ever touch the ground makes it drastically more demanding
for players.

While Jovan and other Tsunami athletes have been playing
the sport for years, others may have had their first taste of
water polo in September at the start of a new season. Growing
from 57 athletes last season to more than 90 this year,
Tsunami is working to expose as many athletes as possible
to the fast-paced sport and offers free trials in hopes to get
more kids in the water.

The majority of Tsunami members are multi-sport athletes
and the club encourages them to stay involved in other activities.
While most are water polo players in the winter and
swimmers in the summer, others also compete in hockey,
football, basketball, Taekwondo, volleyball and cheerleading.
Riley Zilkie splits her time between cheerleading and competing
with Tsunami at the provincial level. Coming from a
swim background, Riley first tried water polo this past summer
and became one of Tsunami’s many new members this
fall.

“I started off at Tsunami as a newbie but all the coaches
and players welcomed me into their family,” says Riley. “I
usually don’t like sports but I honestly love water polo and
I will keep playing.”

Taylor Halbauer, Tsunami U19 and U16 athlete, is not new
to the sport. Starting as a swimmer, Taylor is now in her sixth
water polo season and her love and dedication to the sport
is infectious among her teammates.

Competing across western Canada and playing at the national
and international stage motivates Taylor and other
Tsunami athletes such as Kendra Justice, a U12 athlete.
With a long-term goal of being a member of the Canadian
women’s national team, Taylor’s coaches strive to help her
and other athletes achieve their goals.

“Our coaching staff feels very privileged to have the opportunity to
mentor and support our athletes,” says Raine Paul, Tsunami head
coach who has returned to Edmonton after playing four NCAA seasons
in southern California. “I can’t think of anything more rewarding
than helping an athlete achieve their goal and being a part of that
journey. We don’t take a timeout from being coaches just because
practice is over, we are coaches 24/7 because for us coaching water
polo isn’t a job, it’s our passion.”

Leah, a new Tsunami mom this season, is watching as her daughter
enjoys water polo and makes friendships with her new teammates.
“My daughter joined the Tsunami this year and was warmly welcomed
by the athletes, families and coaches. Having never played
before, her coach is ensuring she is learning the skills needed, and
is patient and encouraging with her development,” Leah says. “The
sport is amazing for the whole person, and our daughter is happy and
proud to belong to the Tsunami family.”

Whether athletes are returning for another season or putting on a
swim cap for the very first time, water polo is a great way to develop
swim skills in an interactive, safe and fun environment. As Edmonton’s
oldest water polo program and celebrating its 35th anniversary
this season, Tsunami hopes to see new faces at the pool soon.

Excitment was in the air on Saturday, September 17th as Tsunami welcomed in the 2016-17 season with more than 150 athletes, coaches, and parents present at the season kick-off to celebrate the start of the new season. With more than 20 new athletes joining the club this fall, Tsunami is excited for the season ahead and ready to jump back into the pool on Monday to start preparing for the upcoming competitive season.

“Having the opportunity to meet new faces and bond as a club before the official start of the season was great,” said Raine Paul, Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club Head Coach. “Tsunami has a solid group of athletes, coaches and parents and I’m excited to see what the different teams can accomplish this season.”

“It was fun to start the year with a team bonding event like this,” said Taylor Halbauer, athlete on Tsunami’s U16 and U19 female NCL teams.

This season Tsunami will be entering three teams in the National Championship League. Tsunami’s U19 males and females, and U16 females will travel across Canada’s three western provinces in hopes to secure a spot in the NCL’s national final in Calgary, AB at the end of May. At the U14 level Tsunami will be entering both a male and female team to compete in provincial competition. These U14 teams will work to qualify for the U14 Western Championship based on their finish at the 2017 Provincial Championships in April. With a healthy group of U12 athletes Tsunami is excited for the U12 Provincial League and the opportunity these teams will have to travel around Alberta for competition. At the community level Tsunami will also see our U10 athletes compete against different Edmonton area teams as they learn the sport. With the introduction of a new U8 program this season, Tsunami is happy to offer another option for younger athletes looking to get involved with the sport.

Tsunami is also affiliated with the Edmonton Masters Water Polo Team which gives adults the opportunity to enjoy the sport of water polo in Edmonton.

With an exciting and busy season ahead, Tsunami looks forward to a fall full of water polo!

Interested in joining the team? Please contact our head coach at tsunami.waterpolo@gmail.com for more information.

The Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club is thrilled to congratulate Milan Laban who will be representing Team Canada at the 18U FINA World Championships taking place in Podgorica, Montenegro, from August 26 to September 3, 2016.

Milan’s years of hard work and dedication make him a leader at our club and role model to many of our younger athletes. Respected by his coaches, teammates and competitors, Milan is a talented player and we are excited to see what the future holds for him.

As one of three Alberta athletes named to this list, Tsunami would also like to congratulate Harrison Henning (Calgary Torpedoes) and Aleksa Stanic (Calgary Torpeoes).

Good luck in Montenegro!

Link to Water Polo Canada article:
http://waterpolo.ca/News3322.aspx

Starting on Friday November 4th Tsunami will be offering a new Friday night program for U8 and U6 athletes in the shallow end of the Terwillegar Recreation Centre pool from 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.

Program Details:
U8/U6 Players (2009 & Younger): train 1 time per week and participate in the city league. Registration fees are $75 per session or $180 for all three if paid in September. Session 1: November-January; Session 2: February-April; Session 3: May-July. No bingos. No early bird discount.