ESTEVAN - While the Estevan Sharks’ water polo season came to a close recently, four local athletes are continuing to spend lots of time in the water, as they have been selected for further training and competition with Team Saskatchewan.
The Sharks’ Ryan Hoeving and Mahlyn Bomberak, who are both 14 years old, and 13-year-old Jennika Linthicum train with other athletes from across Saskatchewan with the under-15 provincial team in Regina.
Also selected is Oxbow’s Rachel Tober, 14, who is a former member of the Sharks now swimming in Regina.
These athletes will be travelling to California over the Easter break for nine days of intense training and scrimmaging with numerous teams. The team also has plans to attend the Kap7 water polo tournament at the end of their time in the state.
They left for California on Sunday.
In an email to the Mercury, Nadine Linthicum said water polo is a popular and widely-played sport in California. Approximately 58,000 high school athletes play in the state.
She noted these three athletes played with Team Sask. against the Gold Coast entry at the Alberta Open in Calgary at the beginning of March.
There are 12 players on the under-15 team.
Linthicum said the players are selected after they play with developmental and high-performance groups of athletes throughout the season, which is a step up from the local club level. Then Water Polo Saskatchewan evaluates the athletes.
Water Polo Sask. said the team is a gateway for these young athletes to pursue their athletic and academic careers beyond high school. The organization believes the exposure to the high-level competition played at some world-class facilities will be an invaluable experience.
