Water Polo Official Varsity Sport in Texas, Passes UIL
On October 21, 2019, water polo became an official UIL Varsity Sport in Texas beginning in fall 2021. UIL is the University Interscholastic League and it oversees the vast majority of athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in our state. No other sport has been added since wrestling some 20 years ago. This is a big win for Texas and for water polo, and Pegasus has been and will continue to be a catalyst for growth of water polo in Dallas. Pegasus will seed players into all of the high school programs in our area. As you well know, we have the best coaching staff of any club in the state!
New varsity water polo teams will also mean a much bigger recruiting pool for national team pipelines and NCAA programs; improved coaching training, and tournaments visiting the Lone Star state. USA Water Polo, the country’s national governing body for polo, is working with the UIL to expand coach and referee development opportunities across the state to meet anticipated demand. A key partner in getting state approval was the Texas Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (TISCA) and their water polo advisory group.
Here are a few news links collected by Joe Linehan, our USA Water Polo representative for Texas UIL inclusion:
- TX Water Polo Podcasts: https://www.txwaterpolo.com/2019/10/23/podcast-uil-water-polo-interviews-with-mac-allie-slay-and-cullen/
- TX Water Polo Commentary: https://www.txwaterpolo.com/2019/10/24/some-of-what-uil-sanction-means-for-texas-prep-water-polo/
- TX Water Polo Announcement: https://www.txwaterpolo.com/2019/10/21/uil-approves-water-polo-pilot/
- Dallas Morning News: https://www.dallasnews.com/high-school-sports/2019/10/21/the-uil-is-on-the-verge-of-adding-a-new-sport-for-the-first-time-in-more-than-20-years/
- Swimming World: https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/the-uil-has-approved-high-school-water-polo-in-texas-now-what/
- Swimming World: https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/high-school-water-polo-in-texas-okayed-by-uil/
- SwimSwam: https://swimswam.com/water-polo-approved-as-pilot-program-in-texas-high-schools/
- Vype: https://www.vype.com/its-for-everybody-uil-to-add-water-polo-in-2021
- Houston Chronicle: https://www.chron.com/sports/highschool/article/UIL-passes-water-polo-as-pilot-program-for-2021-22-14550171.php
- Bob Ballou CBS Austin: https://twitter.com/BobBallouSports/status/1186425009662758912
by Pressley Peters
