Courtesy: USA Water Polo
Irvine, CA – February 8 – The world’s largest water polo tournament returns this summer with the 2022 USA Water Polo Junior Olympics set to feature three sessions from California to Texas. Session I (July 16-19 – Boys 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U) and Session II (July 21-24 – Girls 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U, Mixed 10U, 12U) will take place in the San Jose/Stanford area in Northern California with the Session 1 JO Expo set for July 15 and the Session II Expo scheduled for July 20. Session III (July 28-31 – Boys & Girls 14U, 16U, 18U, Mixed 10U, 12U) will head to the Dallas, Texas area with the Session III Expo confirmed for July 27 as the JOs come to a close on the eve of the first varsity high school water polo season in Texas history.
Sessions I & II will require zone qualification while Session III will offer open registration. Unlike 2021, there are no geographic restrictions on participation. Athletes are permitted to participate in one session only, with information below on the timeline regarding registrations, zone qualifications and more. Seeding for Sessions I and II will be based off of 2019 results as that was the last Junior Olympics eligible to all zones. The college coach meet and greet will once again take place virtually allowing athletes an equal opportunity to meet with coaches across all sessions. In addition, college coaches from around the country will be in attendance at all three sessions to evaluate athletes. Medals will be awarded to the top finishers in the Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze brackets across all three sessions. Junior Olympic All-Americans, as voted on by club coaches, will be awarded in all sessions at the 14U, 16U and 18U age divisions. See below for additional rules updates regarding 12U and 10U competitions alongside an outline of the 2022 Junior Olympics format previously emailed to current club coaches and administrators.
For more information on the 2022 Junior Olympics, be sure to visit the official homepage at USAWaterPolo.org/JuniorOlympics. Don’t forget to follow USA Water Polo on social media (@USAWP) throughout the Junior Olympics for updates, highlights, features and more. Use the hashtag #2022JOs when sharing Junior Olympics content on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
2022 USA Water Polo Junior Olympics Timeline:
| March 15 | JO Qualifier dates due to USAWP from all Zones |
| April 1 | Registration opens for Session I & II JO Qualifiers & Session III (no qualification required) |
| May 1 | First day that JO Qualifiers can begin |
| June 1 | All Registration closes for JO Session I, II, & III |
| July 1 | Session I & II field finalized. Session III registration re-opens for teams that did not qualify for Session I or II |
| July 15 | Session I JO Expo & Coaches packet pickup |
| July 16 -19 | Session I in the San Jose/Stanford area, Northern California – Boys 12U, 14U. 16U, 18U |
| July 20 | Session II Expo & Coaches packet pick up |
| July 21 – 24 | Session II in San Jose/Stanford area, Northern California – Girls 10U, 12U, 14U. 16U, 18U & Mixed 10U, 12U |
| July 27 | Session III Expo & Coaches packet pickup |
| July 28 – 31 | Session III in Dallas, TX area – Boys & Girls- 14U, 16U, 18U & Mixed 10U, 12U |
Junior Olympic Rules Update
Below are updates on 10u & 12u rules that will be played during the 2022 Junior Olympics. All updates can be found in Appendix E
| Approximate Course Size (L x W) | Team Size (Including Goalie) | Length of Game | Goal Size | Ball Size | |
| 10U | (15-18m) x (10-12m) | 5 v 5 | 4 x 5 min quarters | Up to the size of 12u goal but preferably approximately 2.0 x .7 meters. All goals at 10u should be inflatable | Size 2 |
| Roster = 12 | 2 min halftime 30 second shot clock |
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| 12U | 20m x 15m | 6 v 6 | 4 x 6 min quarters | Intermediate Goal 2.5 Meters X .8 Meters | Size 3 |
| Roster = 14 | 2 min halftime 30 second shot clock |
- The 10u Rules are a continuation of the rules played during the 2021 Junior Olympics
- The 12u Rules will also see the elimination of the “press” requirement for defenses
2022 Junior Olympics Updates
- Session I & II will require qualification through the established and traditional Zone Qualification process
- Session I & II is open to ALL Zones.
- Seeding for Session I & II will be based off of 2019 results, the last year that all Zones participated in the same event.
- Session III is also open to ALL zones and will be an open registration, Zone Qualification tournaments are not required.
- Athletes and Teams may not participate in Sessions I or II AND Session III.
- If a team does not qualify for Sessions I or II, they may register that team for Session III after their zone qualification tournament has concluded and they have been notified that they Did Not Qualify via reallocation.
- Non-qualifying Session I or II teams will be eligible for Session III after reallocations are finalized for their zones and that there is available space in their division for additional teams.
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