From February 16-21, some of the world’s best water polo players will assemble in Texas for the FINA Women’s Water Polo World League Intercontinental Tournament. The six-day event runs Tuesday through Sunday, in Lewisville, which is about 40km (25 miles) north of Dallas, USA.
For the six* international teams, much is at stake. Not only will it be a pre-Olympic tune-up and a chance to refine rosters and strategy, but it will also serve as a qualifier for the FINA World League Super Final, June 7-12, in Shanghai, China. Host China gets an automatic spot in the Super Final for organising the meet.
*Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and the USA
Three matches per day will be played at the Westside Aquatic Centre in the Texan city, with the final taking place on Sunday February 21 at 12:40 (local time). See schedule here
The final ranking of last year’s Intercontinental Tournament was as follows:
1. United States; 2. Australia; 3. Canada; 4. China; 5. Brazil*; 6. Kazakhstan; 7. New Zealand; 8. Japan
*The nations in bold above were the teams qualified for the Super Final last year.
The European preliminaries have started in October 2015 and the fourth round will be played on Tuesday February 16. The Netherlands are leading Group A while Spain tops group B.
Swimming news courtesy of FINA.