Members of the national water polo team were present to provide support following the launch of the Manila Water Polo Grassroots Program last Tuesday, March 22 at the Vitas Aquatic Center in Tondo, Manila.
A brainchild of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, who wants to establish Manila as the ‘Water Polo Capital’ of the Philippines similar to the province of Kashiwazaki in Japan and Barcelona in Spain, the program will involve all six districts of the city capital.
Dale Evangelista, the man in-charge of the program, said that this is a good start after 50 young aspirants of the sport showed up on the opening day after several cancellations due to the pandemic.
“We’re excited that finally we’ll start teaching these young Manileños. Normally what we teach our kids is how to swim, but for this program of the Mayor, this is the first time we’ll teach them how to swim and how to play the sport,” said Evangelista.
“With that, we at the water polo national team, we hope to identify young players who’ll be future national team members, and also help the city be recognized as the water polo capital here in our country,” he added.
The program is under the Manila Sports Council (MASC) led by officer-in-charge Roel De Guzman, in coordination with the water polo national team as members of the squad will provide lessons to aspirants.
Aside from the Vitas Aquatic Center, the other venues for the program include the Andalucia Complex, Dapitan Complex, Bagong Buhay Complex and the JCC Complex – all under the care of the Public Recreation Bureau.
Residents of the city, according to Evangelista, are the main targets for the program.