Official Club Name: Dynamo Water Polo (Atlanta, Georgia)
Officers: Ed Opalach (President), Manny Torres (Secretary), Stuart
Sheldon (Marketing and Development), Mark Lefkow (Sport Development)
On the Web: www.dynamoswimclub.com/-polo
Age Groups and Genders: The club does not currently offer age-group water
polo other than masters. The club is open to any interested individual
regardless of age, gender, or ability.
By the Numbers: 100 plus in their general pool with currently over 30
active
Main Pool: The club calls home the Dynamo Swim Club Chamblee Facility, 10
minutes from downtown Atlanta
Club Coaches: Not Applicable
How They Got Started: The club started in 1990 at Atlanta Water Polo by
Jerry Mujica and a handful of other post-collegiate water polo players who
happened to end up in Atlanta. The club was initially housed at Georgia Tech and
then Emory before landing at the Dynamo pool in 1995. For a full history visit
their website.
Where Do They Practice: The Dynamo Swim Club Chamblee Facility
Drive Time: One of the challenges for Dynamo is finding people to play as
there are only four other water polo clubs within an hour drive so it remains a
constant challenge between convenience and a variety of competition.
Power From PowerBar: Dynamo just retained PowerBar as their primary
sponsor for 2008 and 2009. Starting in 1992 this marks the 16th year of the
relationship. Dynamo receives support in the form of producets, hats, shirts,
banners, etc. In addition there is the opportunity to generate extra club
revenue whenever Dynamo can put the PowerBar name out there. The PowerBar Cup
will be held for the tenth year this August 23rd and 24th at the Chamblee
Facility.
International Flavor: The roster is loaded with folks from outside the
USA including current and former players from Holland, Venezuela, Brazil,
Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New
Zealand. Three years ago the club helped to host David Beck, a Hungarian high
school exchange student who was also an outstanding water polo player. They also
converted Annamaria Gazda, a long time Hungarian national team swimmer and NC
State standout into a polo player.
College Crowd: The club gets a great deal of their players from the
collegiate ranks. Schools such as UCLA, CAL, Hartwick and college club like
Florida, Colorado and Michigan have all had alums suit up for Dynamo.
Looking Ahead: The club hopes to continue to grow especially at the high
school level.
Where Do They Play: Dynamo is one of the most active "open" water polo
clubs in the South. They take part in a competition once every six to eight
weeks and play around 75% of their matches against collegiate club programs.
They also make accomodations to allow all their players that want to play in a
tournament even if it means adding a second squad or "B" team.
From the NBA To Dynamo: The most famous member would be Tom Gugliotta,
former basketball star at NC State and the Washington Bullets in the NBA. He
played goalie for the team last year.
Why Dynamo?: It's the only water polo club in the area open to players of
all ages, so why not?