Water Polo

Let the polo games begin, water polo that is, to pass, drive, shoot, and score under the desert sun. The 2022 IGLA Tournament is on.

  • Where: Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs
  • When: April 7-10, 2022

That is the big picture and registration is open. It’s that simple without the hard and fast, but there are always hard and fast rules and regulations if you want to play.

The Hard Ones:

  • All members of each water polo team must be registered participants in IGLA 2022.
  • All members of each water polo team must be registered members of USA Water Polo or, if representing a team from another country (International Teams), then registered members from the FINA recognized water polo governing body of the country they are representing. No exceptions.
  • International Teams must comply with USA Water Polo Visiting International team requirements. Caution: This requires extra time and documentation (see below).
  • USA Water Polo Rules will govern.
  • Pool rules and regulations must be followed.
  • Any team can win the tournament, but only an IGLA Team can become the IGLA Champion.

The Fast Ones:

  • Pool Locations (2): Water polo will be played at two different pools. Most games will be held at Desert Hot Springs Recreation Pool (8:00 am to 6:00 pm) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, while others will be played at the Palm Springs Swim Center (3:30 pm to 8:00 pm), on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with the Championship games on Sunday afternoon.

    • Palm Springs Aquatic Center (PSSC)
    405 S Pavilion Way
    Palm Springs, CA 92262
    Parking Lot on Site

    Desert Hot Springs Recreation Pool (DHSRP)
    11750 Cholla Dr
    Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
    Parking Lot on Site

Registration Fee: $140.00 per player flat fee for online entries until midnight PDT on Sunday February 20th. Late online entries will be allowed for $160.00 until 11:59 pm PDT on Monday, March 21st. Deck entries are not accepted.

Game Play Times:

  • DHSRP: First games will begin at 8:30 am and finish by 6:00 pm, with an 8am warmup at DHSRP.
  • PSSC: Afternoon games start around 3:30 pm. after the completion of swimming, and finish by 8:30 pm, except for the last two championship games, which will be played on Sunday afternoon, April 10th, 2022.

Caution on Timing and Scheduling: Scheduled game times are only approximations and will be updated throughout the Tournament. Teams need to be prepared for earlier game times at PSSC in the event swimming finishes earlier than currently anticipated and at both pools in the event the prior game ends early.

Warm-up: Should you need to warm-up before the tournament starts, pool time will be available Wednesday, April 6, at PSSC, from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Schedule: Teams are anticipated to play between four and six games in the tournament, depending on the number of teams entered, with four games being the minimum. If there are enough teams, we will split the tournament with two leagues: Open Division and Sport Division.

Tournament Schedule: IGLA 2022 Host Water Polo Rep, Audrey Kim, will distribute a google grid with tournament scheduling to all team coaches/leaders a week before the IGLA event.

Individual Players: If there are any unaffiliated players or players from locations that cannot field a full team, IGLA 2022 Host Water Polo Rep, Audrey Kim, will incorporate them into other teams or combine various players into a new team. Please reach out to Audrey Kim if you are an individual player without a team, or a group of players without a full team.

Visiting International Team Requirements: Pursuant to USA Water Polo, international teams, confirmed though their host federation, are allowed to participate in USA Water Polo practices and sanctioned events, but are not covered by the USAWP Insurance policy. According, the following items from visiting international teams are required:

  • International Team Participation Waiver form (see below) must be completed and signed prior to entering the water for a warm-up, practice, training, or game.
  • All International Participants must provide evidence of registration with their host federation.
  • A letter from the host federation, confirming the team is in good membership with their host federation.
  • A certificate of insurance naming USA Water Polo, the City of Palm Springs, the City of Desert Hot Springs, IGLA, IGLA 2022 organizers (including West Hollywood Aquatics, Long Beach Grunions, and their officers and organizers), as additional insureds.
  • International Team Waiver - Please complete this form and email it to Polo rep Audrey Kim.

Women's Exhibition Game: The women of IGLA and allied teams participating in IGLA 2022 are invited to help us build up the sport of water polo and unite community by participating in an exhibition game. This is a game to celebrate the achievements of women in the sport and to help build bridges between teams by building friendships and respect. What better way to do it than to play a game which blends teams together! This is to be played on Saturday around 5:30 pm, as a lead into the Women’s Night Social. If you identify as female and are remotely interested in playing, please reach out to the Polo rep Audrey Kim. If not, she'll probably still reach out anyways.

Volunteers: We will need volunteers to work on the officiating table for all games. Whether you like waving a red ejection flag, or stopping and starting time, we want you at our table! Our needs include a scorekeeper and clock keeper per game. Volunteers' schedule would definitely be worked around your game schedule. If you are remotely interested in spending some extra time at the pool, please reach out to Polo rep Audrey Kim. This will not obligate you to volunteer, but we can chat a little more!

COVID Policy: All participants must be vaccinated and upload copy of their vaccination card when registering. All local, city, county, and state COVID-19 safety mandates at the time of the meet will be strictly followed. This includes mandates on masks and gathering sizes/capacity limits for events at the pool facility. If necessary, we will adjust the meet to adhere to these mandates.

Refund Policy: Refunds of registration fee will be given upon request if IGLA 2022 is cancelled by federal, state, or local order, announcement, regulation, action, advisory, or declaration, or if the host team deems it impossible, impractical, or inadvisable to proceed with IGLA 2022, or if it becomes or is likely to become illegal to proceed with IGLA 2022, arising from or related to COVID-19, H1N1, or similar infectious disease, or acts of God, fire, flood, natural disaster, war or threat of war, acts or threats of terrorism, civil disorder, strikes, or other occurrence beyond the control of the host teams. In the event of such cancellation, all registration refunds shall be less pro-rated processing and administrative expenses and in no event whatsoever shall anyone associated with IGLA 2022, including organizers, volunteers, directors, officers, representatives, agents, consultants, permit holders, facilities (whether municipality or not), affiliates, and organizations (IGLA, West Hollywood Aquatics, Long Beach Grunions, USMS, USA Water Polo), be liable for any damages, costs, expenditures, loss of income, or charges associated with travel or plans to travel to IGLA 2022 or arising out of the planned participation in IGLA 2022.

All sales of merchandise are final. In the event IGLA 2022 is canceled, merchandise may be mailed to address provided if merchandise has been produced or is in the process of being produced, and if not produced or in the process of production, then refunds shall be given less pro-rated processing and mailing costs and expenses.

TRAVEL INSURANCE RECOMMENDED

It is strongly recommended that anyone planning on attending IGLA 2022 purchase or obtain travel insurance as no one associated with IGLA 2022 can predict future travel restrictions, regulations, or requirements.

All participants may be required to sign and execute all waivers and releases of liability prior to the competition, if necessary, to comply with all sanctioning, registration, and permit requirements related to IGLA 2022.

Questions? Contact us.