After playing in the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics for the past eight years and coaching for two, it was an exciting experience to participate once again—this time as a referee. I began by officiating several local qualifying games, then traveled to Irvine, where I officiated 46 games over the course of eight days, primarily in the 12U age group platinum division. It was fascinating to see the event from an entirely different perspective and to witness all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making a tournament of this scale successful.
Over 200 referees officiated more than 5,000 games across 60+ pools. The level of organization required to coordinate it all was truly impressive.
It was a great experience meeting referees of all ages from across the country. I learned so much from their insights and hope to see many of them on the pool deck in the years to come.
