International Women's Water Polo Tournament Genova 2024 Event Circuit
Great show at the Sciorba Swimming Pool in Genova, where the first edition of the international women's water polo tournament "Pink Waterpolo European Youth League" was held over the weekend, organized by the U.S.Luca Locatelli Genova, the holder of the Italian category title. Born with the intention of pitting the young and promising Genovese team against the winning teams of the respective national championships of the main European nations, the German champions of Esslingen, the Slovakians of KVP Kùpele Piest'any-Team Slovakia (practically the Slovakian youth national team), the Greeks of Alimos Nac Betsson, and last but not least, the prestigious Hungarian club Ferencváros TC-Telekom, all participated in the event.
On Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, the qualifying phase took place, with Locatelli leading the provisional rankings, followed by Alimos, then Ferencvaros, Esslingen, and finally KVP-Slovakia.
In the late afternoon, in the tournament for third place, Ferencvaros Telekom easily defeated Esslingen and KVP-Slovakia. The latter team executed the first overturn of the day, defeating the Germans with Cinzia Ragusa on the bench, the unforgettable Olympic gold medalist from Athens in the strongest Setterosa era, securing third place at the expense of the German team.
The second overturn of the general qualifying phase standings occurred in the final, unfortunately, with Andrea Della Zuana's girls, despite a monumental performance from Irene Rossi, not being able to perform at their best in the most anticipated match and narrowly losing (15-16) to the young and talented Greek team of Alimos. Nevertheless, it was a highly positive experience that will certainly help our players grow and draw strength and learnings from this splendid event.
Special awards were given to two "otters" (Rachele Giacomelli, born in 2012, youngest player, and Margherita Minuto top scorer with an impressive 30 goals in 5 matches). There was a remarkable tie to award the best goalkeeper prize, which was shared by the two goalkeepers from Esslingen and Ferencvaros (Marilena Kotroni and Maria Sekulic, Julianna Daroczi and Boglarka Mikola), while the best player award was won by the very young Greek player Afroditi Bitsakou, a 2011 talent who will certainly make headlines in the future.
Aside from a hint of regret for the narrow defeat in the final, a spectacular match that crowned a tournament filled with fierce competition, strong emotions, and above all, lots of fun for both the athletes in the pool and the spectators who had the opportunity to witness high-level European youth water polo. This event, part of the circuit of events for Genova24's capital, remains a source of pride for the organizing club, from the compliments of the world's number one club, Ferencvaros Telekom, to the city's embrace that on Saturday evening dedicated the colors of the De Ferrari square fountain to Locatelli Genova (white, red, blue, like the otters' club, with a pink spout in reference to the tournament), to a corporate turnaround promising to elevate the Genovese society considerably in the national scene, not only in youth level. For Locatelli Genova, the event did not end with the final – quite the opposite, as possibly the most crucial phase is beginning, that of recruitment, thanks to the invaluable contribution of the Municipality of Genova. Until February 28, Genoese elementary and middle school students can try water polo for over two months free of charge. For more information, email locatelli.genova@gmail.com.
See you in 2025 for the Pink Waterpolo European Youth League!
U.S. L. Locatelli Genova
