Two dozen teams from around the West will converge on Sweet Home for the three-day Nike Open Water Polo Tournament at Lewis Creek Park Monday, July 15, through Wednesday, July 17.
Steve Sessa, director of the Salem-based Willamette Valley Water Polo Club, is tournament director. He also directed the inaugural tournament last year, which drew about a dozen teams.
“It’ll be a good tournament,” he said of this year’s event. “We’ll have 70-plus games compared to 58 last year.”
Expected this year are five teams from central and northern California, along with others from the Portland and Seattle areas. The team traveling the farthest will hail from Albuquerque, N.M. and Sessa said a couple of others didn’t make the trip because logistics couldn’t be worked out.
“We’ll take care of those for next year,” he said. “Sometimes it’s easier to grow in small steps.”
Still, this year’s turnout nearly doubles the 250-some athletes and coaches who showed up for last year’s event.
Games will run from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday, and from 8 a.m. to 6:30 on Tuesday and Wednesday on courts located next to the boat slips at Lewis Creek. Teams will camp at the park under special permission from the county Parks and Recreation Department.
The tournament is free to the public, other than the entry fee to the park.
Sessa said the athletes will include some real talent.
“There’s a handful of kids just from Portland and Seattle that are representing junior national teams either this summer or next,” he said. “Both in the boys and girls divisions.”