Time Is Near for Girls’ Water Polo

Surfing and roller hockey have been mentioned most frequently in recent years as sports that might receive sanctioning in the CIF Southern Section.

But the momentum at the moment seems to be with girls’ water polo, which is proliferating on the club level. Athletic directors from the Sunset League in Orange County have put together a proposal to make it a recognized sport, beginning in 1996.

Despite funding cuts in education that have resulted in decreased budgets for athletics, Sunset League officials are optimistic there is support for sports expansion. A survey they sent out last spring revealed more than 60 Southern Section schools have girls’ water polo teams, from as far away as Ventura County and the Inland Empire.

“Half the schools in our league have more girls out for water polo than boys,” said Larry Doyle, athletic director at Huntington Beach Marina. “The girls have infiltrated the program to the extent that it’s time to think about giving them their own.”

Water polo is a co-ed fall sport that has been dominated by boys. The past few years, however, a growing number of girls have been working their way into varsity lineups. That has given other girls inspiration and more are turning out each season.

At Long Beach Wilson, Coach Ricardo Azevedo recognized the need to expand his program. Now, in addition to his varsity, junior varsity and freshman-sophomore boys’ teams, he oversees a girls’ squad as well.

Showing faith in his new team, Azevedo hired Erika Billish as its coach. Billish has been a member of the women’s U.S. national team for the last seven years and has been playing since she was a teen-ager.

Billish said she is impressed with the quality of play. There are 16 girls out for the team, and the Bruins are 9-0. Wilson played host to a 16-team tournament last month and defeated Los Alamitos, 7-4, in the championship match.

Because its tournament received such a warm reception, Wilson is working with Irvine High to play host to the first Southern California girls’ water polo championships, Nov. 2-4. Organizers are hoping for 32 or more teams.

“The interest out there is incredible,” said Billish, who grew up in Chicago, where girls’ water polo is a recognized sport. “We didn’t have any trouble filling a 16-game schedule for the season, and our tournament was also full. I think a lot of girls are enjoying the opportunity to have their own team, instead of having to always compete with the boys.”

Girls have been playing water polo on the club level for years, and there are also a growing number of developmental junior national camps. Many colleges, including UCLA and USC, field women’s water polo teams, and the NCAA is considering holding a championship tournament in the near future. There is also talk of women competing in the Olympics by 2000.

Those are all reasons why Sunset League officials believe it is time for the girls to have their own season. Their proposal would make girls’ water polo a winter sport, beginning next year.

Bill Clark, Southern Section associate commissioner, said girls’ water polo appears to be growing the way soccer did a few years ago.

“I think there is a case to be made for making this a sanctioned sport,” he said. “Our rules require 20% of our 491 member schools field teams in order to have playoffs, but it may be that they start small and grow.”

Said Doyle: “I don’t think we’d have trouble getting 20%.”