Written by Adam Hunter, content specialist at ParticipACTION
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved getting active on or in water. Whether I swim in an outdoor pool on a hot summer’s day, kayak or canoe on a peaceful lake in cottage country, or scuba dive in the ocean while on vacation, I feel this incredible energy surge and mood boost followed by a sense of calmness and mental clarity.
Thanks to our long winters, I only get to do most of these activities for a few months of the year. While I enjoy swimming on my own at indoor pools during the colder months, in early 2023, I noticed my motivation start to slip – something was missing.
I began reminiscing about the days when I swam for my high school swim team and played inner tube water polo in university. I missed the thrill of competition and the sense of community and social connectedness that came with being part of a team. I also missed having friends who love swimming and other water sports and activities as much as I do. At the same time, I felt disconnected from Toronto’s 2SLGBTQQIA+ community despite being part of it.
So, one day, I Googled “Toronto 2SLGBTQQIA+ sports leagues”, and an organization called OUTSPORT TORONTO appeared in the search results. Its website lists Greater Toronto Area-based 2SLGBTQQIA+ amateur and recreational sport organizations.
As I scrolled through the list, I came across the Toronto Triggerfish Water Polo club, an organization that brings the sport of water polo to Toronto’s 2SLGBTQQIA+ and allied communities. This was exactly what I was looking for, so after learning more about the club, I added myself to the wait list!
The try-out was way harder than I expected, and long story short, I didn’t make the competitive team. Anticlimactic, I know! But I wasn’t disappointed because I had never played real water polo before, and I gave my best effort.
Despite not making the competitive team, I was still invited to join the recreational one, where members get introduced to water polo swimming strokes, ball handling skills, rules and tactics. I was so happy to still get to join the club, so I signed up and am proud to say that I’ve found my active crowd!
What is water polo?
Water polo is a team sport played in a swimming pool with nets placed on opposite ends of it. Each of the two competing teams is usually made up of 13 players, with seven players (one goalie and six field players) from each team in the pool at a time. Typically played over four eight-minute periods, a game begins with teams lining up along their respective goal lines until the referee blows a whistle to signal the start of play. Players from both teams then swim for a ball to try gaining possession of it.
The team that gets the ball becomes the attacking team who swims with and passes along the ball and tries to throw it into the defending team’s net to score a goal. The defending team tries to stop an attack and get the ball so they can become the attacking team. The team that scores the most goals at the end of the game wins.
What I love about water polo and Triggerfish
Not only do I find water polo fun to play, but I also think the sport is physically challenging, mentally stimulating and rewarding. It’s an excellent workout since it requires a combination of treading water, head-up front crawl and back crawl. As challenging as I find water polo, the drills and games, led by patient and experienced coaches and players in a safe and positive learning environment, have helped me quickly get the hang of it.
Since I joined the Toronto Triggerfish Water Polo club, I’ve become more confident both in and out of the pool and feel a greater sense of community and social connectedness, largely thanks to my positive and supportive coaches and teammates. Not wanting to let my teammates down, my desire to improve my stamina and skills so I can confidently play in upcoming tournaments, and the after-practice social gatherings all motivate me to keep playing this incredibly exciting sport twice a week. I’m thrilled to compete in my first tournament taking place this April in Toronto and to march in the Toronto Pride Parade with my teammates and coaches this June!
I feel so lucky to have found my active crowd, and I hope my story inspires you to find yours, too!
Adam Hunter joined the ParticipACTION team as the content specialist in 2021. When he’s not writing blog posts or playing water polo, he enjoys swimming, cycling, hiking, kayaking and scuba diving.
