Water polo teams need to raise $34,000
Three
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School water polo teams are looking forward to
spending a week in Hawaii this summer at the Maui Water Polo Invitational, but
in order to do so they will have to raise approximately $34,000 to get all team
members there, according to Jake Kalkowski, head
water polo coach.
“It’s
a great tournament, with five games, and our teams went a few years ago, with
all three teams placing in the top five during competitions,” he said, speaking
about a 2005 excursion. “We have a new group now and they are very talented, so
we think they would do well and we’d like to give them the opportunity to go.”
In
order to raise the funds, the teams, as part of the Santa Ynez Valley Water
Polo Club, which is the summer group, and its parent-booster club, plan to hold
a car wash, sell banners, hold a raffle, a rummage sale, and bring in Mother’s
Day bouquets, as well as other options that are still in development.
The
car wash, to be Feb. 2 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will be held at Old Mission
Santa Inés. Students will be selling tickets before
the event and directing traffic to the site on that Saturday.
The
raffle will offer a trip for two to Hawaii as the grand prize through Travel
International Sports, the same group handling the travel for the three teams.
The travel agency is based in Manhattan Beach.
Banners
to support the trip will be used throughout the year and will hang on the fence
around the school’s swimming pool. The large banners for individual businesses
are $500 and the group banners, with several logos on each banner, will be $100
for each sponsor.
“We
need about $1,100 per student to attend the tournament,” Kalkowski
said. Approximately 30 to 35 students are planning to attend. The group
includes two boys teams and one girls team, all ages
15 through 18. The coach for the girls team is Jenele Martin.
The
trip will be July 15-22 with coaches and chaperones scheduled to travel with
the team. Sightseeing plans include luaus, surfing, hiking, and snorkeling. Team
members planning to attend the tournament need to reserve their place for the
trip by making a $125 deposit before Feb. 1.
For
more information and to help with the fundraising, call 709-4191.