CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – The 2019 Sunshine State Games focused its fourth weekend of June competition on Water Polo as nearly 1,000 athletes battled it out for state bragging rights in the pools of Coral Springs and Deerfield Beach over a three-day period.
With temperatures reaching 100+ each day, the cooled-off pools of Broward County were a welcome sight for the Florida-based and international teams, consisting of Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and Ecuador, in 7-on-7 matches.
On Saturday, the Coed U10 division title was captured by the South Florida Water Polo Club. While it previously was defeated by Hialeah 15-13 in the two sqauds’ first meeting, SFWPC rushed out to an early six-goal lead in the first half and held on to edge the Storm 15-12 in the championship match.
SFWPC picked up its second title of the weekend in the Coed 12U group as it defeated rival Hialeah 12-7 for the team title. The Riptides out of Miami rounded out the Coed divisions, capturing the 14U championship with a 14-10 tally against the White Caps.
In the 16U division, the Riptides boys squad had a dominating 22-11 victory against the Orlando Thunder while the girls U16 title was won by Sarasota with a 23-5 showing against Patriot Aquatics.
On Sunday at the Deerfield Beach Aquatics Center, SFWPC collected its tournament-best fourth title as the Girls U18 team posted a 9-5 victory against the Riptides for the championship title.
In the Open Division, Tampa Bay edged SFWPC 9-8 in the men’s final while the Riptides defeated the UF Gators Polo Club 17-5 in the women’s final.
Weather halted the conclusion of the third and first place games in the Boys 18U division as lightning and storms entered the Glades-area to the west, making landfall over the Coral Springs Aquatics Complex which forced the end of the tournament.
The 2019 Sunshine State Games summer slate will end the month of June with three events this weekend as Powerlifting is contest in Clearwater on Saturday while Badminton and Ninja Challenge will take place in Miami.
Check back in with SunshineStateGames.com for a post-event recap and results for those events.
About the Sunshine State Games
The 40th Sunshine State Games are presented annually by the Florida Sports Foundation (FSF), the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization, and a division of Enterprise Florida, Inc. The Foundation works in conjunction with a variety of local sports industry partners to present the different competitions. The Sunshine State Games, an annual amateur sports tradition in Florida, is part of the state’s $57.4 billion sports industry that accounts for 580,000 jobs statewide.