By Dan Plouffe
They’re not ready to be world-beaters quite yet, but for the members of two 14-and-under teams from the new Capital Wave water polo club, a November tournament in Gatineau was all about getting their first taste of competition.
The scores weren’t pretty – mostly double-digits for their opponents and not much more than a couple for them – but the players didn’t terribly mind what the scoreboard said.
“We have to start somewhere,” smiles Capital Wave head coach Celso Rojas. “Even though you saw the score was really against us, they were still smiling.”
Capital Wave entered two squads of equal ability instead of stacking an ‘A’ team to the detriment of the ‘B’ group for the event. Rojas picked even teams as close to perfection as possible, it turns out, as the Capital Wave squads fought to a tie game through two overtime periods before the winner was determined in a shootout when they met.
“My philosophy is to get all the kids to whatever level they can reach in the sport,” explains the former Peruvian national team player. “Some may reach the university level or the provincial level and that’s good. Some may play the national or international levels, and that’s good too. But what I really want to teach them is the love of the game.”
Founded this fall, Capital Wave has just over 50 players in total for its first season, including some who switched over from the larger Ottawa Titans program.
“It’s hard to build the sport with one club,” says Capital Wave president Kim Oastler, noting most other major Canadian cities have two or more. “We thought it might spark some competitive edge and really build water polo in Ottawa.”
The vision for the club is to be “successful and inclusive,” details Oastler, who’s worked in social services herself for over 20 years and understands the sport can be expensive for some.
“We want to make sure that every kid who wants to play can play,” she emphasizes. “We didn’t want there to be barriers for anyone.”
Rojas runs a summer program at an outdoor pool in Vanier where many participants don’t pay to play. Capital Wave is building an alliance with the Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa – home to the Britannia pool they use, along with others at the University of Ottawa, Carleton and Champagne Bath.
“It’s not just about the kids playing the sport, it’s about creating other mentors for your children with the other parents. It’s about developing relationships between the kids and other families,” Oastler adds. “It’s about building a community.”