Ultimately, summer water has become a necessity for the boys programs throughout the state. By September, you are already in the heart of a fairly short CIF season. The girls will continue to train as a club program, but the intensity drops down quite a bit due to the fact the school has kicked back in and a lot of the female athletes are involved in other activities. In San Diego, for example, girls water polo will probably have larger numbers than their male counterparts by the 2001 season. Having a separate season not only gives the females equal opportunity for quality, experienced coaching, but it avoids the problems dealing with facilities and transportation.
Referees can also work two consecutive seasons and avoid doubling up in the fall.
Ultimately, the girls do not have to compete in the recognition that they can receive that might be lost or diluted if seasons had overlapped. It also seems to help out if the boys and girls can participate at the same time collegiate men and women play. We spend very little time with swimming as a chief conditioner during the water polo season out of necessity due to the overall lack of available pool time. During the spring, we stress training and competing on the high school swimming team because valuable technique work is always reinforced. Athletes that do not swim really hurt their opportunity for making advancements in the sport of water polo.