In the fall at Innis Arden pool, before the Girls’ Swim Team arrives, another team can be seen practicing. Coached by Mira Ho, this group of 25 boys gets together every day to play water polo and prepare for their highly competitive games against other schools in the district. 

Captains Cole Nguyen and Danny Martinez, both seniors, have led Boys’ Water Polo to a series of victories that the team hasn’t seen in years. Currently, they are ranked third in the league. There’s just one thing, though. Water polo isn’t an official school sport in Washington. 

This is because the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association, or WIAA, has not sanctioned it as a sport at all. At Shorewood, it remains a club, despite the team’s rising popularity and high win rate. 

“We’re 9-2 right now, and we’re getting a lot better,” said former captain Dean Foral, junior. “We’re beating teams that we lost to last year, and everybody is getting involved. We’ve destroyed pretty much every team we’ve played against.” Smiling, Foral added, “There are also a lot of new people joining the team, and it’s really cool to see.” 

Though spirits are high regarding the team’s continued success, there are still a lot of downsides to not being an official sport at Shorewood. Coach Ho said, “We compete against clubs that, unlike us, have pools on campus, financial support for pool and league fees, school buses, and competitive coaching salaries. 100 percent of our team’s financial obligation falls on families, and every person on the team is paying more to play than they would for any WIAA sanctioned sport.” 

This raises the question for many of whether water polo should become a newly sanctioned school sport. It would mean a statewide change, but it is nonetheless desired. After all, teams with very few games and less than 15 people are still officially recognized and funded by Shorewood. These teams receive recognition, so students believe water polo should too. 

Jason Qi, sophomore, plays varsity water polo at Shorewood. “Based on the amount of games we play and win for our school, we should already be an official team,” Qi explained. “I feel like it would positively impact the way people look at us. I know that we’re not as popular as football, or soccer, but we still put up wins.” 

Many people may agree with Qi’s statement, but the decision for official recognition is ultimately up to the WIAA. However, this does not stop the team from pushing on. In Foral’s words: “We’re an up-and-coming sport, and people are getting excited about water polo.”