Oregon High School Water Polo Championships

When it comes to water polo, the Newberg Tigers boys and girls own the state of Oregon. The Newberg boys team claimed the 2006 championship title by thumping Westview of Beaverton 18-2 in the final game at the Osborn Swim Center in Corvallis. The ladies followed suit by dominating the Skyhawks of Southridge 8-2 in their final, winning their 14th state title in the past 20 years.

I was shooting for the Beaverton Valley Times and the Tigard-Tualatin Times as Southridge, Westview, Beaverton and Aloha sent teams to the state finals from the Beaverton area and the Tualatin boys battled Southridge to win third place honors. Being my first water polo match, I found it to be a bit of a challenge to shoot, as the light was very low and splashing water kept blowing out the autofocus. The shooting went well, but I felt I could have done better. Between the two publications, seven shots were published, as the Beaverton Valley Times ran five of them in color with its complete tournament coverage filling more than a full page.