First Round Winners

Water polo was the first Olympic team sport and has a history and reputation of being both powerful and technical. This sport is a full contact game that requires a lot from the athletes that play it. The Orlando Thunder athletes are dedicated and determined to succeed in the pool, in academics and in life. Our athletes practice twice a day during the summer and all throughout the school year. They are a cohesive and committed team who help one another in and out of the pool. Water polo is a sport that requires a big financial commitment because of the equipment that we use and the fact that we need to pay for pool time. While field sports are able to be more flexible with where they practice, water sports are not. This past year our team lost a valuable two weeks of practice during the season because we had to renegotiate the cost of the pool where we practiced. If Orlando Thunder is given this generous grant, we will use the money to help us secure pool space, and “gear up” by purchasing the head gear and new water polo balls that we need to keep our athletes safe as well as the special suits that our players need to wear. Some of our players do not have the money to pay for their suits and the tournaments where we need to compete to help our players improve their skills. Our coaching staff tries their best to help these athletes and your generous grant will also help these players. Some of our athletes have the opportunity of being recruited for college. Your grant will help them continue to pursue their dreams of playing water polo in college. Thank you so much for considering helping this very special group of young athletes.