Tomo Udovičić Tournament — Event for Younger Water Polo Players

The tournament “Tomo Udovičić” is the event for all younger water polo players and fans, as well as for those looking for some good games to watch.

For eight years now, the tournament is held in memory of a big man and a huge water polo lover, Tomo Udovičić. The tournament takes place  in Dubrovnik (CRO) annually, in spring.

Tomo Udovčić was a legendary coach and devotee of water polo who has been raising generations of water polo players. Many of them became national, European, Olympic and world-class players.

The tournament brings together dozens of teams from Croatia, Italy, Spain, France; Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Slovenia, Netherlands and even Singapore, Australia and United States. There are two competing groups: U-12 — young water polo players up to 12 years; and U-14 — players up to 14 years.

Srđan Gavranić, tournament organizer from Water Polo Club “Jug”, commented on this year’s upcoming tournament:

“The work of Tomo Udovičić inspired us to organize a tournament where younger water polo players can come and play. We have been cherishing his memory for eight years now.

We started with the U-12 category where girls and boys play together. However, the interest grew, so we added another category — U-14. I have to say that we were surprised by the great response. So many signed up that we were forced to stop the registrations because our accommodations and pools were full,” said Gavranić.

This year, there are 39 teams in both categories: 16 in the U-14 and 22 in the U-12 tournament. They come from 27 clubs and nine European countries. Unfortunately, not all teams made it to Dubrovnik due to its remote location.

At the moment, more than 600 children and coaches and 250 parents have been accredited, but the numbers will be even bigger, Gavranić assures. Last year more than 1000 people attended the tournament.

Furthermore, Gavranić talked about Dubrovnik and the trophy.

“We must note that this tournament is organized in cooperation with the City of Dubrovnik, who is both the co-organizer and sponsor of the event. All the guest can enjoy free Dubrovnik tours and local transportation.

To conclude, I would like to remind everyone that this tournament carries a certain memorial note. The trophy for the best player carries the name of Ivo Ivaniš — the untimely deceased player of Water Polo Club “Jug” and national player,” said Gavranić.

The tournament will end on Sunday, 8th of April. The final games will be played in 16:30 for U-12 category, and 17:00 for U-14 category.

Check out the teams that will be playing this year in both categories:

Category U-12 (born 2006, and younger):

Category U-14 (born 2004, and younger)

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