Under a broiling sun, dozens of water polo players were battling for first prize in a West Island tournament.
But what these competitors were really playing for was to raise funds in memory of a former Pointe-Claire resident and water polo athlete who died in a tragic car accident in 2011.
The Mark Bernotas Water Polo tournament was held at the Valois Pool in Pointe-Claire. The foundation is collecting money in Mark’s name to sponsor two young individuals, one male and one female, to help them pay for future water polo expenses.
“Our national championships are often held out West so the work that the foundation does in supporting a local athlete every single year, it makes or breaks that child’s season really,” Fiona Fitzgibbon, the tournament organizer, told Global News.
Some of the previous scholarship recipients have gone on to compete at the national level.
“If you look at the history of all the winners most of them have been on national teams,” Fitzgibbon said.
READ MORE: Hockey tournament honours Pointe-Claire’s Mark Bernotas
This is the first time in three years that the tournament returned. It was suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The players competing in this tournament never played with or against Mark but they’re all well aware of his legacy. One team president played with Mark years ago and says his former teammate had a tremendous competitive spirit.
“Learning from him and then working up the chance to play with him on the same team representing both Dollard and the provincial team was phenomenal,” Nicholas Tatigian, President of the DDO Water Polo Club, said in an interview.
Mark’s parents started the foundation years ago and are thrilled the money raised in his name can go a long way.
“It just warms my heart see that it’s helping out families who may need it,” Robert Bernotas said.
Mark was known not just as a great athlete, but is remembered as a wonderful human being.
“He was the biggest, hearted dude I’ve ever known,” Tatigian said.
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