What is JOs?

Junior Olympics (JOs)

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The USA Water Polo Junior Olympics (JOs) is a national water polo tournament for athletes in different age groups.
It is an opportunity for clubs to come together from across the country and compete in the biggest age group water polo tournament in the world.

Qualification

Teams must qualify in a weekend tournament held by June each year.
A club team secures a seeding after the qualification tournament, which determines the division the team will compete in.

Tournament Structure

The Junior Olympics, usually held in July, consists of:

Championship Division – Top 48 teams in the nation play over long courses, with longer quarters and a highly competitive atmosphere.
Classic Division – An additional 48 teams who competed in their zone qualifying tournament but did not qualify for the championship division. This provides athletes with a competitive end‑of‑summer tournament.

Teams compete over a four‑day period within their respective age groups.

Tournament Sessions

Three sessions are allocated for the JOs tournament:

Session 1 and 2 – Open to all zones and require qualification through zone tournaments. One session will be allocated to all Girls and Mixed teams and the other to 14U, 16U, & 18U Boys teams.
Session 3 – Open to all zones and does not require qualification.

Sessions 1 and 2 are typically held in California, while Session 3 tends to be hosted in Dallas, Texas.

Membership Requirement

A Gold‑level USA Water Polo membership is required for Junior Olympics participation.

Travel & Team Activities

Travel and accommodations for JOs are to be managed by each individual athlete/family. Veteran JO families can be a good resource for where to stay. Each California tournament is based in either northern or southern California but games are spread out over a large geographical area to accommodate so many games each day.

Closing Note

JOs is a wonderful time for fun, growth, and development!

Learn More

Visit the USA Water Polo website for more information.