Water Polo Canada announces Senior Men’s National Team selection for upcoming training camp in Japan

Montreal - Water Polo Canada (WPC) is pleased to announce the Men’s National Team athletes that will travel to Morioka, Japan for a joint training camp with the Japanese National Team. With two years to go until the 2020 Olympic Games, this trip has multiple purposes including training and competing, but it will also facilitate the familiarization of the team to a new environment and a new culture.

Earlier this summer, the Canadian women’s national team also had the opportunity to travel to Morioka to train and play an exhibition match against the Japanese National Team. Along with the training camp, the Canadian women experienced the Japanese culture to its fullest taking part in many activities with the local community. The Canadian team also spent a few days in Tokyo to visit some of the venues for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Similar to their female counterparts, the Canadian men will start their trip in Morioka to train with the Japanese National team. Canada will then play an exhibition match against Japan on August 5th, 2018. The Canadian players will also have the opportunity to meet the community as they will host a water polo clinic for the local kids and participate in the Sanso Odori Festival, one of the biggest event in Morioka!

Japan and Australia will then join Canada for additional training at the National Training Centre in Tokyo. For the Canadian men, this visit will also serve as preparation and familiarization for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“This camp is a great opportunity for our team to train and compete in a new environment. It will be interesting to see how the players adapt to the climate and time change as we continue our preparation for Tokyo 2020. I am pleased that the team will have the chance to play against opponents with a different style of play like the Japanese and the Australians. On the technical and tactical side, we will evaluate how the team has grown since the 2017 World Championships and what we need to improve on for the future. During these two weeks, we will work on all phases of the game, and it will be a good time for our younger players to grow and adjust to the senior level of play.” commented Pino Porzio, Men’s National Team Head Coach.

Senior Men’s National Team – Travel List

Name	Hometown
Jérémie Blanchard	Longueuil, QC
Jérémie Côté	Montreal, QC
Bogdan Djerkovic	Ottawa, ON
Reuel D’Souza	Port Coquitlam, BC
Aleksa Gardijan	Gatineau, QC
Matthew Halajian	Maple Ridge, BC
Gaelan Patterson	North Vancouver, BC
Milan Radenovic	Toronto, ON
Aleksa Stanic	Calgary, AB
Scott Robinson	Calgary, AB
Aria Soleimanipak	Calgary, AB
Mark Spooner	Port Coquitlam, BC
Sean Spooner	Port Coquitlam, BC
Devon Thumwood	Calgary, AB
George Torakis	Montreal, QC

Staff – Senior Men’s National Team

• Head Coach: Giuseppe “Pino” Porzio
• Assistant Coach: Brian Parillo
• Team Leader: Justin Oliveira