Growing The Sport Of Water Polo

Change is happening at different speeds. Sometimes a small movement begins and an avalanche begins to form.

Things have changed rapidly in the world of water polo in several respects.

It is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). This is particularly true for girls’ water polo, which saw an 18 percent increase in high school participation from 2008-09 to 2018-19 as both interest and accessibility to the game have increased.

Former Cal Star goaltender Fana Fuqua has witnessed much of this change firsthand. Nearly two-and-a-half decades after she first donned the Cal Blue and Gold — and became the first black varsity sophomore athlete in the history of NCAA women’s water polo — she continues to be both an advocate and a vehicle for it continuous growth a of the sport.

Just last month, Fuqua — who works full-time as the director of athletics and outdoor education at San Francisco’s Hamlin School — partnered with USA Water Polo for a clinic at the Steve Lundquist Aquatic Center in Clayton County, Georgia, to help her Passing on knowledge of the sport to children aged 10 to 18 together with local club coaches.

“The clinic was incredibly successful. The kids were super excited,” Fuqua said. “They stayed in the water for three hours and were just so excited to be there. They asked where they could play in college, where they could find programs and club teams in Georgia to play and just fired questions at me like it was nobody’s business. “

For Fuqua, what makes a visit to this special aquarium center special is its diversity.

“There are so many colored faces at this pool. It’s incredible,” she said. “I remember the first time I entered the pool deck. All lifeguards were colored. The children also took swimming lessons. I was like, ‘Oh my god, we need to play some water polo here.’”

Demographically, water polo is not a very diverse sport. In particular, African American athletes make up a very small percentage of their collegiate and professional membership.

In 2022, Fuqua was endorsed by the current Cal star Isabel Williams not only as the only First Team All-American goalies in the history of the program, but also as the only black First Team All-Americans. For Fuqua, the fact that they occupy the same position is an ironic microcosm of diversity in sport.

However, given the way the world has evolved in recent years, Fuqua knows things won’t stay the same forever.

“I think with everything that’s happened with George Floyd and with all the different things that’s happened in our country, people wake up and they’re like, ‘Hey, I want to give back to programs, I want to give money, to help kids to help learn more about the sport,” Fuqua said. “Visually you see it on social media. I just see more focus and drive than before, but I think it also needs people who have been a part of water polo, people who having an impact, going into the community and growing it at the grassroots level. That’s really important.”

In the years since Fuqua cemented a legacy that includes an MPSF Goalie of the Year award, a career record that still ranks among the best in Bear history, and time spent as a goaltender for Team USA , comprised, Isabel Williams simultaneously became one of those little kids in the community who, despite water polo’s lack of accessibility, was lucky enough to stumble upon it.

“I was just lucky. I was at a club and a family friend just told us to come and try it,” Williams said. “Coming from the east coast we had a few small clubs so to compete in California you had to travel if you really wanted to do something with it.”

Williams, a Severna Park, Md. native, has drawn on her influence in her efforts to make the sport more accessible and available, no matter how big or small. It comes in the form of small things, like sharing stories of their love of the sport with those around them, which will hopefully create a ripple effect of interest. There are also larger forms, such as working with the non-profit Alliance for Diversity and Equity in Water Polo (ADEWP), which advocates for inclusion and equity while providing education and opportunities for everyone interested in the sport.

“Ever since I started in water polo, I’ve been trying to look for more ways to get people involved because I just love the sport,” she said. “I would do clinics with my club team and I love doing the camp here. That’s my main thing, to get people into the sport, to be more hands-on and to share my story with other people.”

Now in her senior year with the Bears, Williams has also been heartened by the changes she’s seen in the different ways water polo is growing across the country.

“Since I started, there’s so much more area of ​​growth, more programs and instances of things coming up that are specific to water polo,” she said. “Definitely more for African American kids, but also for just about any representation. More of breaking the mold and finding opportunities for people who may not have the same access, especially to pools. Just seeing programs like this coming means hope and it means more good things to come.”

While Fuqua and Williams will continue to do what they can to build the future of the sport, Fuqua knows it’s not just about the diversity of these players play – it is about the diversity of those represented.

“My hope is that in the future, a variety of people will come out to show people that you don’t necessarily have to be a national team player or be at the elite and top level to play water polo or have history told,” Fuqua said “I want people to know that water polo, whether it’s at the DI, D-II or D-III level, can still be a great experience to do whatever you want with. I think it’s really important that there are broader stories out there showing what different people are doing.”

Whatever paths the sport of water polo takes in the future, Fuqua and Williams will help guide it along that path.