You are here: Home > News > Newsletters
Ottawa Titans Water Polo Weekly Newsletter
  February 25, 2009

Titans Merchandise Sale of Balls and New Club Suits (only) on March 3 and 5

Water polo balls and the new Club bathing suits will be available for sale as follows:

In both cases, you will find Christine in the stands with the merchandise. Cash or cheque only please.  We should have all sizes of suits in stock.


Important Message Regarding Titans Code of Conduct and Possible Doping Testing During Events
From David Hart,  Titans Head Coach, and Paul Massel, Titans Competitive Programs Director


Dear Titans Athletes, Parents and Coaches

As part of our on-going preparations for Provincials and Nationals we would like all athletes, parents and coaches to please review the Titans Code of Conduct, available here: http://titanswp.hypermart.net/Titans200809/CodeOfConduct/CodeOfConductComplete.pdf .

Of particular interest would be the section on doping including the possibility of unannounced doping testing at events.  It is important for everyone concerned to realize that many over the counter medications as well as the obvious illegal substances are included on the list of banned substances.

The consequences of a positive test are very serious and can impact not only the results of the Titans team in question but also on the future participation of the athlete including any Provincial or Federal funding - eligibility for NCAA and continued involvement with the club. The Titans take a zero-tolerance attitude to Code of Conduct infractions in this area, and there could be serious sanctions imposed also by OWP and WPC.

More and more of our Titans community are being recognized through Quest For Gold funding and Sport Canada carding and some of our athletes may in the future be in consideration for a US scholarship.

Please take the time to consult the Doping website (and your Code of Conduct) since we can anticipate unannounced doping testing at some of the upcoming events this season.

The sole source in Canada is CCES Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport  http://www.cces.ca/

Here are specific links to key areas:

The video is very important because it is a good tool to educate athletes on what they can expect if they are called to Doping Control, it dispels myth/rumors but also is an eye-opener.


Cheers,
David Hart, Titans Head Coach

Paul Massel, Titans Competitive Programs Director


The 2009 Nelson McDunnough Memorial Water Polo Tournament
Submitted by Christine Taschereau

It was quite an exciting tournament for the Great White Sharks. First, a last minute cancellation reduced the already small team to only 10 players. Then, travelling conditions on Friday night, that included strong winds, reduced visibility and blowing snow added excitement. Also, as this was the first away tournament for the GWS this season, emotions were high, as was the radio and the alto voices singing along with all the current popular tunes. The van may have actually bopped down the highway to the Dollard des Ormeaux complex on the West Island. But most importantly there was the water polo.

The tournament schedule was an interesting, 12-team, mix of division, cross-over and round robin elimination that had some strange consequences. York who lost to DDO1 in its division somehow ended up in the Gold medal game against CAMO 1 and DDO1 won the bronze medal when it beat Hull.

The first division games for the GWS were against cadet teams which accounts for the lopsided scores of 19-2 and 18-3 listed below. The real challenge came Saturday evening in the cross over game against York, a physically big team, made up mostly of second year U18 players and a few of them junior national team members. To give the GWS the greatest advantage, chaperone, Neil Bouwer, ensured the GWS were well fed on traditional Montreal smoke meat from Chenoy’s and well rested with an afternoon nap. These measures however, didn’t prevent one GWS from getting a bit of a bug and not being fit enough to play against York so the GWS were effectively down to 9 players.

York sped off the wall for the 1st swim-off and basically controlled the game. The GWS always remained within striking distance but just couldn’t get their usual speed and ball handling ability to work for them. John Conway scored the last GWS goal at 3:21 of the 4th quarter and try as they did the GWS just couldn’t score another goal. The real misfortune was that as a result of that 6-7 loss the GWS were out of the medal round. The players drowned their sorrows in some good Greek food at Arahova. Food always seems to work.

Once back at the hotel the GWS hatched a plan to improve their speed for Sunday’s games by waxing off their body hair. Although they did win their 2 other games I am not sure if the wins were worth the pain considering some of the yelps that were heard in the hotel hallway or the complaints the first time they entered the water on Sunday.

On Sunday the GWS faced the Cadet CAMO 2 team that they previously beat 18-3. The result was very similar but slightly improved with an 18-2 win.

The second game was against Scarborough who was fast on the swim-off but James managed to control the ball quickly and scored first. By the end of the 1st quarter the GWS were leading 5-0. Again, Scarborough was fast off the wall for the second swim-off but the GWS maintained their lead, finishing the 2nd quarter ahead 9-5. Then somehow the GWS energy level dropped dramatically. Not only did the GWS have difficulty scoring but their defensive play was off. The 3rd quarter ended with a close 12-10 lead for the GWS. Finally the GWS won their first swim-off in the 4th quarter but that control was short lived as Scarborough tied the game in the first 2 minutes of play. Goalie Ben, had the spectators on the edge of their seats when he faced a 5 m penalty shot 2 minutes later. His block was spectacular and inspired Lyle to score some 20 seconds later breaking the tie. The lead was short lived as Scarborough re-tied the game within 20 seconds. John, at the five seconds mark, scored the winning goal thereby insuring a 5th place finish in a tournament where the GWS had 76 goals for and 28 goals against and only lost one game to a team that ended up playing in the final. Not bad for a team with 10 players.

Thanks to Neil Bouwer for his devotion as driver, chaperone and for being such a good sport. And thanks to Coach Jerry hopefully he has stopped laughing at the waxing event.

 
Newsletter Submissions

If you would like to contribute an item to the newsletter, please send your submission to Sue Sidebottom at news@titanswaterpolo.ca .  I depend on the readers to submit articles to keep club members up to date with water polo news!   Photos from tournaments or other club events are always welcome.  Any submissions received before noon on Wednesday will go out with that week's news.