Author: benhalsall

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Kelowna Water Polo Athletes Win National Gold and Bronze

KELOWNA, BC — Kelowna water polo athletes earned national success this spring as Pacific Storm teams captured gold and bronze medals at Canadian championship events.

Pacific Storm won gold at the 2026 National Championship League (NCL) Men’s 18U Finals in Markham, Ontario. The team finished undefeated against 15 top teams from across Canada.

Kelowna athlete Mason Baughen helped lead the championship run. Baughen is a Grade 12 student at Okanagan Mission Secondary (OKM). He also plays and coaches with the Kelowna Water Polo Club

(L) Esme Oenema, Evelyn Barr, Tea Oenema, Aanika Jonson. (R) Mason Baughen

Pacific Storm Wins Men’s 18U National Championship

Pacific Storm entered the tournament with a 19–1 season record. The team faced its toughest challenge in the semifinal against Surrey, the only team to beat Storm during the regular season.

The semifinal stayed tied at 8–8 after regulation. Pacific Storm then won the game in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Baughen contributed strong defence, smart passing, and key transition play throughout the game. He also scored an important third-quarter goal that restored Storm’s two-goal lead.

Goalkeeper Kaden made several clutch saves in the shootout. Storm players Nikolai, Ivonne, Pablo, and Alex all converted key penalty shots.

Pacific Storm carried that momentum into the gold medal game. The team defeated Toronto Shadow 17–10 to secure the national title.

Storm controlled the game with aggressive defence, fast counterattacks, and balanced scoring. Baughen again played important minutes in the championship final.

Individual Awards Highlight Storm Success

Pacific Storm athletes and coaches also earned major tournament honours.

Ivan Khramtsov received the tournament MVP award. Head coach Branko Pekovic earned Coach of the Tournament honours.

Pekovic recently won Water Polo Canada’s Coach of the Year award. He works closely with many Kelowna athletes through Pacific Storm’s development pathway.

Kelowna Athletes Earn Women’s 16U Bronze

Kelowna athletes also reached the podium at the Women’s 16U National Championships in Surrey, BC from April 30 to May 3.

Aanika Jonson, Evelyn Barr, Tea Oenema, and Esme Oenema helped Pacific Storm capture the bronze medal against many of Canada’s top youth teams.

Jonson anchored the team defensively in goal. Barr, Tea Oenema, and Esme Oenema contributed strong two-way play throughout the tournament.

Team BC Selections Continue Momentum

The success of Kelowna athletes continues this summer.

Kelowna Water Polo Club athletes Aanika Jonson and Liam Halsall have earned selection to Team BC for the upcoming Canadian Championships.

The selections reflect the continued growth of high-performance water polo in the Okanagan.

Kelowna Classic Returns This Summer

Kelowna Water Polo Club will also host the fourth Kelowna Classic Lake Water Polo Tournament from July 10–12 at City Park.

The annual event brings teams from across British Columbia, Alberta, and Western Canada to compete on Okanagan Lake. The tournament features youth and adult divisions and offers free public viewing.

As the Kelowna Water Polo Club wraps up its fifth season, the tournament continues to showcase the rapid growth of water polo in the Okanagan.

More information is available at kelownaclassic.ca.

You can also learn about our Spring and Summer 2026 programs here.

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Training & Drills

Water Polo Leg Day in Kelowna

Water Polo Swim Club - Leg Day
When you want to put your legs to the test... add a medicine ball for good measure.

When you want to get a good leg workout in there is not sport like water polo for putting your strength, agility and skill to the test.

Check out this video for a great leg workout that throws a medicine ball into the mix to add some extra resistance to power against.

10 exercises for leg training with Medicine Ball for Water Polo athletes.

  1. Sustain with elbows out of water
  2. Sustain with 360º turn
  3. Jump holding the ball
  4. Throw up without dropping the ball
  5. Pitch up stronger by dropping the ball
  6. Sustain 5 seconds + swim sprint 3m
  7. Trunk swivel 180º
  8. Pass with both hands above the head (with partner)
  9. Chest pass with both hands (with partner)
  10. Waiter position with side shifts + jump
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Training & Drills

Eggbeater – Water Polo Swim Club Foundational Skill

Firstly, eggbeater is one of the foundational skills that are taught by our water polo coaches in our swim lessons here in Kelowna. For players, practicing a good eggbeater builds strength in the water. Secondly, the ability to transition from eggbeater to breaststroke kick will allow players to improve their overall water polo game. Coaching these skills we will help our players to react more quickly in both defence and offence.

Thirdly, we know that when learning eggbeater swimming skills it is important to start in a balanced position. In this video olympic athlete Jesse Smith gives a good demonstration of a perfect eggbeater position and motion.

The video below is a great step-by-step breakdown of how to eggbeater! Great if you are brand new to the sport.

This one has a more scientific break down!

Most importantly, if you are interested in joining our Water Polo swim team in Kelowna we would love to hear from you. Please drop us an e-mail and get yourself on the team! We run water polo programs for both youth & adult players and our coaches can’t wait to see you in the water.

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Training & Drills

Dribbling & Passing Drills

A water polo player passing the ball.
A water polo player passing the ball.

1. Dribble & Pass

In a water polo swim club you need to work on a diverse range of skills. Swim strength, speed, stamina as well as passing and catching accuracy.

This is possibly the simplest dribbling and passing drill out there for players training with a water polo swim club.

Each time the player swims they can work on their dribble speed, transition, passing position, pass and catch. A great drill to really get those basic skills and stamina in the water going as well as making sure you are swimming with pace and passing with precision.

We are planning to post some more drill animations here so if you know a drill and want it animated drop us an e-mail at info@kelownawaterpolo.ca .

Swim Club or Water Polo?

Why choose! If you are are looking to try water polo in Kelowna, a town in BC’s beautiful Okanagan, then drop us an e-mail. Many of our players also train with swim clubs too.

Whether you are a strong swimmer who has previously swam in a swim club like Kelowna’s Aquajets or the Ogopogo summer swim club or if you haver done some of the higher level Red Cross or YMCA swim lessons then we’d love to have you in the pool giving water polo a try.

If you are unsure when the right time for your child to try out water polo is then take a look at this – When Can My Kids Start Playing Water Polo?

2. Dribble, Spin & Pass

Build agility and strength in the water by practicing different movements in your dribbling & passing drills. Here we add in a spin but other variations could be added in this swim club drill.

Building on the basic dribbling & passing drill this variation ads in ball transition and then spin. The transition and spin help to build a players agility in the water and ability to move quickly in to the ready position and then back to swimming head up with the ball.

References:

Water Polo Planet – Drill 4.1: Continuous Dribbling and Drill 4.2: Circle Dribble by Bill Anttila, November 26th, 2006

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When Can My Kids Start Playing Water Polo?

A water polo player holding the ball in the ready position ready to shoot at a goalie.
Kids as young as 4 or 5 can start water polo. At first it will look like swimming lessons but soon it will develop into full games and a lot of fun!

Water Polo can be taught at very young ages, from 4 or 5. To begin with this is just like swimming lessons but with a ball and goal thrown in for some extra fun. If you watch kids learning to swim ‘the water polo way’ there will be as much emphasis on having fun and learning some fun competitive skills as there will be on learning to swim. Water polo is, after all, a game that should be fun whatever level you play at from 5 to 50+.

‘I Love Water Polo’ is Water Polo Canada’s introduction to the sport for young athletes. This is a learn-to-play environment, similar to swimming lessons, aimed at letting participant discover a love of water polo whilst at the same time developing good aquatic skills like swimming and treading water.

If you can swim you can play!

For older kids, and currently with Kelowna Water Polo Club, we are running learn-to-play sessions in the deep tank at the Kelowna YMCA in Rutland.

The environment in the deep tank means that participants must already have some good swimming skills. If you are looking for a comparison then kids who have taken Red Cross Swim Kids Level 7 or 8 run by the City of Kelowna and who are comfortable in deep water would be ideally suited to give water polo a try. Swimmers should be able to swim 25-50 metres of front crawl with ease at this level. For YMCA programs such as those run at the H2O or Family YMCA Star 1 or Star 2 will have swimmers at a level ready to try water polo.

Play as a team!

If your kids love the team aspects of soccer, volleyball, basketball but didn’t take enjoy the traditional swimming club workout then water polo could be the sport they should try! Just like on-land sports some young athletes are find the sport they love by giving different sports a try.

Just like the sprinting and long distance running of some track-and-field disciplines isn’t for everyone speed swimming isn’t the only way to build strength and confidence in the water.

Trying out other sports like triathlon where swimming is mixed with the disciplines of cycling and running or having a go at artistic swimming, there are so many options. Water polo offers something unique!

Enjoy the game!

Water polo is a great spectator sport. In a weekend of water polo competitions teams will normally have multiple games where you get the opportunity to cheer on your player’s team! Games will vary in length depending on the level of competition but the FINA sanctioned games will be 4 quarters of 8 minutes. Some provincial leagues will shorten this for younger athletes (because water polo it hard!).

Just like in basketball, water polo has a shot clock. This can make it a high-scoring game with plenty of end-to-end action to exercise your lungs to!

Get in touch

So if all this sounds like something your kids would enjoy then get in touch at info@kelownawaterpolo.ca .

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Training & Drills

Water Polo Relay

A water polo player dribbling the ball
A water polo player dribbling the ball

This is a variation on a 50m swimming club relay adapted for water polo clubs. Speed, control and a ball pass at the changeover make this a fun relay to use with youth or adult water polo players.

1. The First Swimmer

The first swimmer will enter the pool from a dive and then receive a pass from one of their relay team-mates, turn and swim head-up front crawl for 50m of a 25m pool touching the ends with their hands. The swimmer will remain in the water until they have passed the ball to the second swimmer.

2. The Second, Third & Fourth Swimmers in the swim relay

On the changeover the second swimmer will dive, turn to water polo backstroke and receive the ball from the swimmer that swam the leg prior to them. They will then complete their 50m of head up front crawl, controlling the ball and be ready to pass the ball after the next swimmer has dived in and turned to receive.

3. The Winner Is

Obviously, the first team to complete their laps!

Variations!

This variation on a regular relay doesn’t have to be restricted to water polo. It can be used in regular swimming lessons in Kelowna too! Things like pool weights could be used or balls that are not strictly water polo balls!