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Dear Members,

 

It is my pleasure to welcome everyone to the BC Water Polo Association (BCWPA).   2020 will mark the 5th decade of the Association’s existence.  We are at the half century mark and clear vision has never been more important.

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BCWPA has positioned itself for success.  The goal is crystal clear:  raising the number of clubs and athletes involved in our sport and establishing a year-round program to serve their interests from grassroots to masters levels in keeping with the Long term Athlete Development Model of Sport Canada. 

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Our recent re-organization, characterized by strong leadership and technical presence on our board, marks a significant step in establishing BCWPA as a year-round center of development of water polo programs in British Columbia. We are working hard behind the scenes to put programming in place for current and future water polo programs. Identifying needs of existing programs is important to us.  Please reach out and share your thoughts on what your program needs in order to grow.

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Only with a strong network of self-sufficient clubs can we move forward towards our motto:  “BC PLAYS WATER POLO”

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Our new logo reflects the BCWPA motto.  All of BC needs to play, all of BC needs to be engaged. BCWPA can only be as strong as the network of its clubs.  Your success is our success.  Whether you run a High-Performance Club, a Lower Mainland Grassroots Community Club, or you are starting a brand new recreation centre based Mini Polo program, we aim to help you succeed.  The equation is simple. If your numbers are growing, your organization is expanding, then we are mutually successful.

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We intend to raise awareness for the sport in regions of BC where water polo has not yet caught on. At the same time however, we consider existing organizations and clubs of primary importance. You have done a lot of work to build a water polo program in your community and deserve ongoing support you can count on. 

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We need to and want to hear from you. We have a strong technical base to help you implement your goals. We want you to be part of the team that raises water polo participation numbers in this province to new heights.  BCWPA has a policy of zero discrimination, and full inclusivity in accepting individuals and program for membership, in keeping with the Province of British Columbia’s provincial policies around Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity.

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We have tailored Access Granted registration polices in accordance with this mandate:

• Accessibility to registration and insurance to everyone at all times.

• Granting access to water polo programming through BCWPA’s insurance to all clubs and their membership regardless of level, other sports affiliations, scope of program.  In concrete terms, access is granted to everyone from High-Performance Clubs through to Local Community based clubs, Recreational Clubs, and any organization identifying water polo as part of their annual curriculum. 

• Flexibility (sliding scale) in registration to match year around, seasonal or short- term water polo programming needs.

• Tournament sanctioning, travel sanctioning.

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We invite you on our ambitious water polo journey to raise the numbers in this sport to heights only seen in California on this North American continent.

 

Look forward to hearing from you at all times, any time.

 

Yours in sport, 

 

Vincent O’Hanley

President BCWPA