Host a National Team Coach at our 2026 High-Performance Water Polo Spring Break Camp

The Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club is applying for $8000 of funding to host a National Team coach at a High-Performance Spring Break Camp in March 2026, to serve athletes aged 16U and 18U from Edmonton, Calgary, and surrounding Alberta communities. This initiative aligns closely with Field Law’s commitment to strengthening local communities, promoting youth sport, and supporting ideas that give back.

Founded in 1981, our club is home to one of Alberta’s most successful water polo programs. In spring 2025 alone, 28 of our athletes and coaches were selected for Team Alberta, and our 18U men’s team won gold at the National Finals Championship. Despite our successes, access to elite training remains out of reach for many young athletes due to high costs, geographic limitations, and limited exposure to national-level coaching.

This camp directly addresses those barriers. With Field Law’s support, we will significantly reduce participation costs, allowing a much broader and more diverse group of athletes to attend. The camp will run during the scheduled spring breaks for Edmonton-area school districts, maximizing accessibility for students. We will also open registration to athletes from across Alberta, creating stronger intercity and inter-club connections.

By hosting a National Team coach, we provide a rare opportunity for local athletes to experience the expectations, training, and mindset of elite-level competition—without needing to travel out of province. Just as importantly, local coaches will benefit from hands-on mentorship, building long-term coaching capacity in Alberta.

This project is not a one-time event. The knowledge, resources, and relationships developed during the camp will be shared with community coaches, recycled into club programming, and used to inform future provincial training camps. Athletes who benefit today will become the leaders, mentors, and coaches of tomorrow.

By making high-performance water polo more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable, this camp will have a lasting ripple effect across Alberta’s water polo communities.

The Edmonton Tsunami Water Polo Club’s High-Performance Spring Break Camp will directly benefit youth athletes aged 16U and 18U from Edmonton, Calgary, and other Alberta communities who are seeking advanced training opportunities in water polo. These young athletes often face barriers such as limited access to national-level coaching, financial constraints, and geographical distance from elite training programs. By offering this camp during scheduled school spring breaks and significantly reducing participation costs, we make high-performance training more accessible to a broader and more diverse group of athletes. We expect approximately 80-100 male and female players and up to 12 coaches to register.

In addition to athletes, the camp benefits local coaches by hosting a coaching clinic that will enhance their skills and knowledge. This addresses the shortage of advanced coaching expertise in Alberta, helping to improve the quality of training and competition within local clubs.

The wider Alberta water polo community will also benefit through increased collaboration and networking between clubs across cities and regions. This camp creates opportunities for shared learning, increased competition, and greater visibility of the sport, which supports recruitment, retention, and overall growth.

Ultimately, this initiative fills critical gaps in Alberta’s water polo development system by expanding access to elite resources and fostering community connections that would not otherwise exist, laying a strong foundation for both individual and community-level progress.