Once upon a time water polo was virtually extinct in Cleveland. Among the only remnants were a pair of orange, rusty goals visible in storage through CSU's underwater diving observation window. At home sat young Steve Trow who had not tossed a polo ball in more than 30 years. Steve Horsfield was missing a front tooth, Carl was a swinging bachelor and Wade was not yet Sir Wade Weber, Esq.
In the early days of CWPC, a few people might show up for practices and those few members often carpooled to University of Akron for a rare full-pool scrimmage. Things grew slowly but surely, with a Continental Congress of sorts taking place at Becky's in 2008 to incorporate the club as it is today.
CWPC in 2015 has 40+ members, new equipment, outdoor pool time, a full inter-state tournament schedule that includes a hosted invitational and probably too much "fraternizing" among members. The club represented Cleveland at the Gay Games and serves as a welcoming home to newcomers to town, new players and college kids who are home for the summer. There is groundwork being laid to establish youth programming. There is still room for competitive growth. There will probably be more romance. And my memory is fuzzy, but I think we mixed polo with a hippie outdoor music festival and it was awesome.
The reason for the reflection is because as many of you know, I am moving to Baltimore and my last day in Cleveland will be Friday, September 4. I was President and now Kasi will be taking back the reigns. While I am also a co-founder of the club, many people have helped shape CWPC into what it is today, so it will continue to thrive, and I will find a new place to play. However, this is a special club made up of irreplaceable people. I will miss CWPC, this city and all of you very much.
Sincerely,
Kevin
P.S. Keep smashing.
Leadership Changes
Our organizational structure includes a Board of Directors that is elected by CWPC members at an annual meeting each year in the fall. The directors through 2015 are:
- Trish Armstrong
- Kasi David
- Maura Dickinson
- Brendon Friesen
- Paul Musille
- Wade Weber
- Kevin Ziegler
This board then appoints officers who run the club on a day-to-day basis. Effective August 10, CWPC officers are:
- President: Kasi David
- Treasurer: Wade Weber
- Secretary: Brendon Friesen
- VP, Outreach and Member Relations: Trish Armstrong
- Supreme Leader Emeritus: Kevin Ziegler
- Tuesday, 8/11 from 8-10 p.m. at Foster Pool/Lakewood Park
- CANCELED: 8/13 and 8/20 at CSU (maintenance)
- Sunday, 8/16 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Lakewood HS
Ohio Squirrels are hosting a tournament in Cincinnati October 3-4. Please let us know if you are interested in playing with this online poll.
Dynamo Powerbar Cup
Online registration is open for Dynamo's Powerbar Cup, August 29-30 in Atlanta. Check for cheap flights from Akron on Southwest. Shared lodging info will be arranged. Click here to sign up.
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