Samena is a member of the Midlakes Water Polo league. All regular season games, as well as league championship tournament games, are organized and sanctioned by the league. For a complete and up-to-date list of game locations and times, league tournament information, and other interesting and useful water polo facts, please go to the Midlakes Water Polo website.

* To learn the game of Water Polo
* To build physical fitness
* To create enthusiasm for water polo both as an individual and as a team
* To promote friendliness and sportsmanlike conduct to each other and opponents**
* To provide opportunity to play with others of the same age and ability
* To teach that success isn't necessarily winning, but is related to hard work.
* To recognize that competition and winning or losing are all part of life.

** Special Note: League will be very strict on friendliness and sportsmanlike conduct. Parents and coaches, as well as players, will be subject to suspension from participating and/or watching if they conduct themselves in an inappropriate way.

Questions related to specific players, or other team activities should be directed to the Coach, at the appropriate time. Please do not interfere with coaches when they are coaching. Please direct questions that are general in nature to the parent rep.
If you have general questions about water polo and its rules, check out The Lost Parents' Guide to Understanding Water Polo.

Midlakes Water Polo is three weeks of regular season games, followed by tournament play. The season will be over by the end of August. Practices are Monday through Wednesday and games on Thursday through Sunday. Each age group should have multiple games on their designated game day each week.

Water polo is a physical contact game with rules allowing for physical play. Players, especially new players, need to prepare themselves for the jostling and bumping that occurs during normal game play.

Spectators and players alike need to be courteous and respectful to opposing players and referees. Referees ensure that the game is played fairly and within the rules. To fully appreciate the flow of the game and the referee's calls, learn as much as possible about water polo and its rules.

If you have questions, comments or complaints, save them for before or after games and practices. The coaches and parent rep are ready to answer questions and help solve problems, but make sure you ask when they can give you their full attention.

Each player should bring at least a towel and suit to practices and games. Some players prefer wearing two suits. Also, bringing a robe to wear when not in the pool is a good idea. Samena provides caps and balls. No other equipment is required.

Schedules are posted at Midlakes Water Polo as soon as they are available. Check regularly for updates and changes. Each age group will have multiple games on the same day each week.

Remember to be at games 30 minutes before game time!

Please note that all players need to have fees paid by the end of the first week of practice, or they will not be allowed in water.

Samena club will host 4 games on Fridays from 8:00am to 12:00 Noon. Parents will be responsible for set up, take down, scoring, and timing of all games that we are hosting for that day, even the ones that the Samena team is not playing in.

Parents are required to volunteer a minimum of 4 hours during the season.
There are a number of ways you can contribute to the team. Please keep in mind the team needs the help of all of the players families! Players in middle school and high school can earn community service hours by helping out with the games and assisting with any of the volunteer opportunities listed below. This year we will not assess a fee for missed volunteer hours, as is done with swim team each year.

One person only is needed for each of the following positions:
Vacation Book
Maintains the vacation book at the Samena front desk, and notifies coaches when players are not available for games.

T-Shirts
Coordinates design, ordering, and distribution of team shirts.

Snacks
Organizes the list of volunteers who will bring snacks for each game. This is almost as important to most kids as the games themselves.

Post-Season Party/Picnic
Schedules and coordinates the post season party/picnic. Also responsible for gifts and awards for various players and the coaches.

Team Photo
Organizes team photo day and produces the team photo. Samena reimburses for all expenses.

Scorekeepers and Timekeepers
On host days, we provide a minimum of 2 scorekeepers plus one timekeeper/spotter per game. Generally, there are 4 games played each host day, so there are a total of 12 positions to be filled. While positions are still available, you can choose to fulfill your volunteer commitment all in one day (by working all four games) or spread it over a couple of days (by working half a morning on two different host days).

Set-Up/Take-Down Volunteers
Set-up and take-down volunteers help prepare the Samena pool for games on our host days. Set-up volunteers need to be at the pool about 7:30am. Take-down volunteers need to be there at the end of the last game of the day.
Please keep in mind this will only take about 1/2 hour per game, so you will need to volunteer for additional jobs to fulfill your 4 hour volunteer commitment to the team.