Regina’s water polo program producing successful athletes

Three athletes who trained in Regina are hoping to win gold medals in water polo at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico this weekend.  

Whitney Genoway (women’s), Robin Randall and Kevin Graham (men’s) are vying for a spot at the 2012 Olympics in London. A win will put them there; a loss will force them to try again. 

“We’ve never made it to the final of the Pan Am games, so we made a little bit of history,” Robin Randall said via Skype from Guadalajara.  

“The only word I can use is exciting,” Kevin Graham said via Skype.  

Over the years, many people with ties to Regina have competed at world events, including the Olympics. Players have their own ideas of why athletes from the Queen City have been so successful. 

“We make a little bit of a joke that there’s something in the water in Saskatchewan,” Graham said. “But honestly, I think that Saskatchewan athletes, there’s a bond between them and we do a good job passing down the experience to the next generation.” 

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Randall, the goalie for the national team and originally from Drinkwater, Saskatchewan, thinks it has to do with what he calls a “stick-to-it-ness” that he believes people in the province possess. 

“I think it’s the hard working ethic that we Saskatchewan folk bring into it,” he suggested. 

Water polo classes begin at the age of eight, which means coaches can watch the students right from the beginning, making their success even more exciting.  

“As a coach, it’s such a pleasure to see your athletes grow up and then to reach the national team level is a good (source of) pride,” said Cyril Dorgigne, Provincial Coach of Water Polo Saskatchewan and Executive Director, who came from France in 2007 to coach the team.  

The players say they owe their success to the coaches who taught them everything they know today. Many of those coaches came from European countries to teach their craft.  

“It’s not every four years that there’s a Pan Am Games,” Randall said. “It’s 365 days for four years at a time, so it really is the support staff that help make it possible.”