A Closer Look: East Bay Masters Water Polo Club


Official Name: East Bay Masters Water Polo Club

Directors:

President:                                             Felice Balarin

            Vice President External Affairs:             Mike Dove

            Internal Affairs/Head Coach:                 Matt Maclear

            Secretary:                                             Alex Luna

            Operations Manager:                            Casey Asche

            Marketing & Recruitment Director:       Chris Wood

            Treasurer:                                             Helen Kim

            Members:                                             Daan Rottger and Paul Kraaijvanger

            Social Chair:                                         Benny Blum

Website: www.eastbaywaterpolo.org

Age Groups and Coaches: The club is coached by Matt Maclear who spends his days as a district attorney while the club has around 50-70 players both male and female. Since 2004 over 200 athletes have become members.

Where To Begin: In late-2003, East Bay Masters originated as a co-ed group of water polo enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels who wanted to establish a team for the East San Francisco Bay region of Vallejo to Fremont, which was otherwise sparsely populated with masters’ teams.  After obtaining enough people, the East Bay Masters (formerly known as XX-XY) obtained 501(c) non-profit status in June 2004.  Ever since, it has looked to provide an excellent place to play their most beloved game and foster professional contacts and friendships.  Underlying East Bay Masters’ mission to promote the sport is its desire to provide a venue where anyone who wants to play water polo can do so in an informal yet competitive setting.

Homebase: The club practices at the El Cerrito Community Center in El Cerrito, CA on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30pm to 9:30pm and on Sundays from 4pm to 6pm.

Who do they play?: The club hosts the annual "Eastbay Masters Classic" in October or November and its one of if not the only co-ed friendly tournament in Northern California. In addition the club plays in any local tournaments they can get their hands on and has hit the road to Vegas, Arizona, Seattle, Masters Nationals and Masters World Championships. Furthermore the club hopes to get on the international scene with a trip to the Netherlands in 2009.

See how they grow: Since their start in 2003 the club has seen membership quadruple and they hope those numbers to continue to rise. The club gets a good deal of support from the Cal Club players who they can scrimmage on a regular basis. In addition the backing of the El Cerrito Community Center has been huge as they just recently installed lights to allow night practices at the facility.

Five years from now: East Bay hopes to keep growing and competing nationally and internationally. They'd like to expand their teams, build a tradition for the club in the local area, and lastly find a way to beat those guys and girls over at The Olympic Club

A place for everyone: One of the strong points of East Bay is they are an Ellis Island of masters water polo. They will take on former collegiate players, swimmers, international players, someone looking to get back in shape, or people who are trying the sport for the first time. With that in mind they really are a full service masters club.