The Estevan Sharks water polo club’s continued success in the pool is showing significant results in its number of enthusiasts.
About 40 kids jumped into the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre pool on Monday for the Sharks annual free trial clinic that allows interested and regular swimmers a chance to play a few games of water polo. Approximately 20 of these kids were looking for a chance to join the mini program, which is comprised of children ages five and six, with the majority of the rest of the swimmers eligible for the ages seven-to-11 atom program.
David Dzeryk, an Estevan Sharks coach, said they hope to field two mini and two atom teams this year as well as one bantam (ages 12-14) and one cadet team (ages 15-17). He said the club seems to grow each year with success following that development in the pool.
“Last year our enrolment was up, so there were a lot of new players,” said Dzeryk, noting interested swimmers can sign up for the Sharks at city-wide registration. “We started the season as a learning team, but for the (fourth) year in a row (the atom Sharks) did win gold at provincials, so we ended on a very strong note. It looks like all the kids who played last year are back this year, so the new kids who are joining now will have some of the weathered kids to help them with things.”
Dzeryk said one of the main reasons the club is able to continually grow their membership is their ability to keep the costs of participating in the program down. He said thanks to a number of fundraising efforts they will be able to keep the cost of registering with Estevan Water Polo at the same rate of late year, which was $270 for the September to December mini program and $475 for the September to April atom, bantam and cadet programs including registration, insurance and tournament fees.
“The free trial is always exciting because (with) the new kids coming in you’re always interested in how they’ve even heard about water polo,” he said. “I’m excited to see the large amount of minis this year. I don’t think I’ve ever had that many.”
