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Free trial to become a Shark

The Estevan Sharks water polo team hosted their annual free trial event at the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre on Aug. 30, and saw a large turnout of youths from the community interested in learning more about the world of water polo.
WaterPolo
Cyril Durgigne, left, shakes hands with prospective water polo players at the free trial event for the Estevan Sharks water polo team held at the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre on Aug. 30. Durgigne is the executive director with Water Polo Saskatchewan, and was in attendance to meet the new players, and introduce youths to the world of water polo.

The Estevan Sharks water polo team hosted their annual free trial event at the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre on Aug. 30, and saw a large turnout of youths from the community interested in learning more about the world of water polo.

The annual event allows children from the community the opportunity to participate in a practise and game, to decide if they are interested in becoming a part of the Shark’s team.

Members of Water Polo Saskatchewan were in attendance of the event to introduce the youths to the sport.

Cyril Durgigne, executive director for Water Polo Saskatchewan, said that excitement levels were running high in both the coaches and the children as the season draws closer to beginning.

“We’re here, like every year, at the annual welcome or tryout session,” said Durgigne.

“We come out to give some coaching expertise to the kids, and get them excited to join the team. We’ve just arrived, but we’re expecting around 30 or 40 kids, with half of those being new. We’re really excited for the season to start and happy to be here.”

Roughly 50 youths were in attendance of the event, with around 20 of those being prospective players, according to Estevan Sharks president Melanie Dzeryk.

“We had about 30 kids come out to the trial last year, so we were hoping to see around that number,” said Dzeryk.

“But we actually ended up having around 20 new kids come out, as well as about 30 of our existing players, so it was great to see so much involvement, and we just couldn’t be happier and more excited.”

The Shark’s water polo season starts at the beginning of October and runs until March.

New to the team this year is the introduction of a one-month trial period for any youths interested in joining the team, who are unsure if the sport is for them.

“We never really know what the turnout is going to be like at the free trial,” said Dzeryk.

“But it’s nice to see a good turnout. The trial is completely free and open to anyone between the ages of six to 18. It’s usually the younger kids that want to come check it out, but this is really how we’ve built our club is with this free trial because a lot of people have no idea what water polo even is and is all about. This year we are also doing something new; we’re doing a month trial, for anyone who’s maybe a little on the fence if they want to join. It will be $75, and will include the full month of Octobers practices, and one tournament.”

Registration for anyone interested in becoming a member of the Shark’s team will be available at City Wide, which is an event hosted at the Estevan Leisure Centre, for families to register their recreation activities for the year in one place, and will be held this year on Sept. 6, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.