Water Polo

Who knew that water polo was a thing in Bonaire?  Well it is. We attended an international water polo tournament. It included teams from Bonaire, Aruba, Curacao and the Netherlands (I think the Netherlands made it international).

The polo fields were set up downtown in Kralendijk in the sea. Water polo is usually played in an indoor pool.  It's unusually to play the game in the sea.  

We thought it was funny that they had their names on the butt of their swim suits. Like you could see their names while they were in the water...HA!  The Bonaire team had the flag on their suits.  Equally funny to us.

An Olympic water polo star from the Netherlands started the water polo club/teams in Bonaire 17 years ago. She is the coach for the youth team. The Netherlands National Coach was also at the tournament providing training through workshops in the water. 

Our neighbor, Erik, is a water polo player as is his12 year old daughter.  We were at the tournament to cheer for them. This is Erik's boat that typically lives in his yard.  We always called it the "SS Minnow" because we didn't think it would float.  It is the water polo team boat.  It sports a Bonaire flag and the ball retrievers use it as a base platform.