Courtesy: USA Water Polo
Irvine, CA – April 19, 2021 – Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, USA Water Polo announces today the cancellation of the postponed 2020 Men’s and 2021 Women’s Division III Collegiate National Championship. In coordination with FINA, USA Water Polo is also canceling the FINA Intercontinental Tournament slated for later this month in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Division III Collegiate National Championships were canceled due to a lack of available teams electing to host seasons during the first half of 2021 while the FINA competition was canceled due to a lack of travel abilities for water polo nations around the world.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel these highly anticipated events. With less than 50 percent of the eligible Division III teams understandably deciding not to hold a season this year, we were left with little choice than to cancel both Collegiate National Championships. That said, we are very excited to have our second men’s event this December and to finally host our first women’s championship next spring” said John Abdou, USA Water Polo Chief High Performance Officer. “We were also looking forward to partnering with our colleagues at the Indiana Sports Corporation in bringing high-level international water polo to the Hoosier State. Global travel restrictions made that impossible at this time but we are optimistic about returning to Indiana in the future for another great event.”
The Division III Collegiate National Championships are scheduled to return in the 2021-2022 school year with the men’s event this December followed by the inaugural women’s event in Spring 2022. USA Water Polo is also excited to continue our partnership with the Indiana Sports Corporation and will look to collaborate on identifying an event to be held in Indianapolis in the near future.