Sports & Activities
Gay Games VII: Water polo roundup
Photo Credit: Nicolas Smith
Lex Georgiou (in green at left), coach of San Francisco’s Tsunami water polo team, can reach high like an orangutan and throw like a slingshot. We were nearly killed (OK, we’re exaggerating, but only a little bit) when Georgiou whipped one into the stands before his team’s game against the Triggerfish as we happened to be standing there.
After team Tsunami won its match against the Triggerfish, we sat down with Georgiou to hear about his team’s experiences at Gay Games VII. Later, Scott Pegg (in white at right) joined us. Pegg played water polo for UC Berkelely and has been helping coach the Tsunami as the team prepares for the Gay Games. Pegg also coaches the Burlingame masters team, a Bay Area team that sometimes plays against Tsunami.
How long have you been coached and played with the team?
[Georgiou]: I’ve been coaching since about last October. This is my third year playing with the team.
How long have you played water polo?
[Georgiou]: I played water polo in high school, and then I took a bunch of time off. When I was finishing up law school, I [got back in the pool] and realized that water polo was the only sport that I could stick with and that I really liked to play. So I did a Google search and found the Tsunamis, and I showed up at practice, and they were great guys and a great group of people, and I just loved it.
What’s your practice and tournament schedule?
[Georgiou]: We usually practice Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then we have an optional Sunday practice, which is a scrimmage against the Oakland women’s masters team. We practice year round, but we sort of have an off-season. Usually all of our practices lead up to IGLA or the Gay Games, but we do also go to several other tournaments.
What’s your record so far?
[Georgiou]: We’re 2-1. We beat New York B and Toronto A, and we lost to West Hollywood B by one point.
Who do you play tomorrow?
[Georgiou]: We play Atlanta tomorrow, and then it depends on whether we win or not.
[Pegg]: If we win, I think we play West Hollywood A [the tournament favorite].
Are you having fun at the Gay Games?
[Georgiou]: Oh yeah, we’re having a lot of fun. The Tsunamis are a great group. I think we’re the happy fun team. We got out; we have a good time. We try to play hard and really focus when we’re in the pool, but outside of that we try to have fun and do cultural things and party.
[Pegg]: Yeah, we’re here for a week, and at most we’re spending a couple of hours in the pool playing water polo. So for the rest of the time we try to have fun and meet other people.
What do you find inspirational about the Gay Games?
[Georgiou]: I think it’s really amazing to see all these gay teams get together and compete. It’s not super aggressive; we’re definitely competitive with each other, but I’m most inspired to see all of these [gay] people playing water polo competitively. When I [played] in high school, I didn’t think there were any other gay people who played. You think you’re the only one. So to grow up and join a masters team 10 years out of high school that is gay is really incredible. It’s such a different atmosphere than the standard collegiate homophobic system that some sports have.
[Pegg]: In college, when I played, essentially nobody was out. It was fairly macho. I think even to this day, there aren’t really any out players [in water polo].
What do you think about the women and men playing together?
[Georgiou]: I absolutely love it. Women’s game is more finesse and more style, and less just pure muscle and pure power. You learn so much by playing with women, because they do things in such a clean way.
Do you have a variety of age ranges on the team?
[Georgiou]: Yes, we definitely do. Our traveling team and our practice team are a bit different, but the oldest player on our practice team is right around 50 years old. We definitely have players from early 20s, straight out of college, to 50.
Do you have newbies on the team who are just learning to play?
[Georgiou]: We’re actually pretty open to fostering new talent. At times we host beginner’s clinics to help new players step up. We teach things like egg beating and ball skills. We also try to make sure we encourage more experienced players to join and play on the team as well.
After team Tsunami won its match against the Triggerfish, we sat down with Georgiou to hear about his team’s experiences at Gay Games VII. Later, Scott Pegg (in white at right) joined us. Pegg played water polo for UC Berkelely and has been helping coach the Tsunami as the team prepares for the Gay Games. Pegg also coaches the Burlingame masters team, a Bay Area team that sometimes plays against Tsunami.
How long have you been coached and played with the team?
[Georgiou]: I’ve been coaching since about last October. This is my third year playing with the team.
How long have you played water polo?
[Georgiou]: I played water polo in high school, and then I took a bunch of time off. When I was finishing up law school, I [got back in the pool] and realized that water polo was the only sport that I could stick with and that I really liked to play. So I did a Google search and found the Tsunamis, and I showed up at practice, and they were great guys and a great group of people, and I just loved it.
What’s your practice and tournament schedule?
[Georgiou]: We usually practice Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then we have an optional Sunday practice, which is a scrimmage against the Oakland women’s masters team. We practice year round, but we sort of have an off-season. Usually all of our practices lead up to IGLA or the Gay Games, but we do also go to several other tournaments.
What’s your record so far?
[Georgiou]: We’re 2-1. We beat New York B and Toronto A, and we lost to West Hollywood B by one point.
Who do you play tomorrow?
[Georgiou]: We play Atlanta tomorrow, and then it depends on whether we win or not.
[Pegg]: If we win, I think we play West Hollywood A [the tournament favorite].
Are you having fun at the Gay Games?
[Georgiou]: Oh yeah, we’re having a lot of fun. The Tsunamis are a great group. I think we’re the happy fun team. We got out; we have a good time. We try to play hard and really focus when we’re in the pool, but outside of that we try to have fun and do cultural things and party.
[Pegg]: Yeah, we’re here for a week, and at most we’re spending a couple of hours in the pool playing water polo. So for the rest of the time we try to have fun and meet other people.
What do you find inspirational about the Gay Games?
[Georgiou]: I think it’s really amazing to see all these gay teams get together and compete. It’s not super aggressive; we’re definitely competitive with each other, but I’m most inspired to see all of these [gay] people playing water polo competitively. When I [played] in high school, I didn’t think there were any other gay people who played. You think you’re the only one. So to grow up and join a masters team 10 years out of high school that is gay is really incredible. It’s such a different atmosphere than the standard collegiate homophobic system that some sports have.
[Pegg]: In college, when I played, essentially nobody was out. It was fairly macho. I think even to this day, there aren’t really any out players [in water polo].
What do you think about the women and men playing together?
[Georgiou]: I absolutely love it. Women’s game is more finesse and more style, and less just pure muscle and pure power. You learn so much by playing with women, because they do things in such a clean way.
Do you have a variety of age ranges on the team?
[Georgiou]: Yes, we definitely do. Our traveling team and our practice team are a bit different, but the oldest player on our practice team is right around 50 years old. We definitely have players from early 20s, straight out of college, to 50.
Do you have newbies on the team who are just learning to play?
[Georgiou]: We’re actually pretty open to fostering new talent. At times we host beginner’s clinics to help new players step up. We teach things like egg beating and ball skills. We also try to make sure we encourage more experienced players to join and play on the team as well.
wannaplay08 wrote:
how can someone join a team like yours -mike
Dec 18 7:10 AM