The biggest youth water polo event in the world: for U9, U11 and U13, held every year in Lignano Sabbiadoro (UD) and drawing teams from five continents.
When is the next Festival?
From 13 to 20 June the week for U9 and U11, from 20 to 27 June the week for U13.
Do boys and girls play together?
U9 and U11 tournaments include girls’, boys’ and mixed teams. The U13 event is split into a girls-only tournament and one for boys-only or mixed teams.
How do you enter the Festival?
Open the page of the event for your team (U9-U11 or U13) and follow the Registration Guide: it contains the information, duties, costs and deadlines. A club can enter more than one team in a single tournament.
Where do teams stay during the Festival?
Teams, made up of players, coaches and officials, all stay inside Bella Italia & EFA Village. Parents, family and supporters travelling with the team can enter the village by paying admission.
What is the Champion’s Passport?
It is a code of ethics: the values of sport to respect in order to be part of the HaBaWaBa community.
What is the aim of the HaBaWaBa project?
To spread the values of sport among children and create a deep bond with water polo through an unforgettable experience.
The London team who participated in HaBaWaBa PLUS 2022 has won the U15 national title. Coach Palumbo: "Lignano changed these kids’ sports lives”
“HaBaWaBa has changed the lives of these kids”. That’s how coach Claudio Palumbo sums up the progress of West London Penguin, new U15 waterpolo champions of England after participating in HaBaWaBa PLUS in Lignano Sabbiadoro (Italy) last summer as U14 team.West London Penguin at HaBaWaBa PLUS 2022. In the picture above, Penguin players celebrating the victory at U15 age group English championships (image by Swimming.org).
The squad coming from London has triumphed in the tournament held last weekend at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield. Penguin has won all the games, beating City of Birmingham (18-4), Kingston Royals (14-2) and Caledonia (16-10) in the group stage; then in the knockout stage they have overcome City of Chester (14-9 in the semifinal) and clinched the title by winning 6-4 over City of Manchester, which was champion in 2021. Penguin player Maximos Karagiannis was elected MVP of the tournament, while his teammate Shai Saltman was top scorer of the competition getting 27 goals in 5 games (click here for all the tournament details).
Palumbo says that Penguin was able to achieve these results also thanks to their experiences in different HaBaWaBa events: players Adriano Porsia, Shai Saltman, Leonardo Benini, Matteo and Michelangelo Antonelli, Daniel Rahama, Daniel D'Souza and Victor Laslop were at HaBaWaBa PLUS last summer, while their teammates Ektor, Maximos and Rafail Karagiannis had won the U9 tournament of HaBaWaBa Greece in 2018, playing for Panionios. Rocco Sahmarides and Henry Manners completed the team in Sheffield.
Maximos Karagiannis, MVP of U15 age group English championships (image by Swimming.org).
“The last summer experience in Lignano changed the sports life of these boys, who also had already won the U14 London League last June - explains the Italian coach who led Imca, Acicastello, Pozzillo, Rari Nantes Napoli and Vomero Nuoto during his career - . After HaBaWaBa PLUS kids agreed to put more effort into training by asking their parents to take them to the pool every day, instead of 3 times a week as it’s usual here in England. And their passion paid off as they grew not only athletically but also in terms of individual technical skills. Being teammates with the Karagiannis brothers undoubtedly helped them in changing their attitude, as the Greek boys were further along in terms of their knowledge of waterpolo”.
After their triumph in the English championship, the youngest among Penguin players will get back to work as they prepare to return to Italy: next summer, the Bella Italia & EFA Village in Lignano Sabbiadoro will host HaBaWaBa International Festival 2023 (June 18-25, event reserved for U10 and U12 mixed teams), HaBaWaBa PLUS 2023 (June 25-July 2, U13 mixed teams) and new HaBaWaBa ExtraPLUS U14 (September 3-8, U14 boys’ or girls’ teams). “Our U14 players are looking forward to returning to Lignano next September for HaBaWaBa ExtraPLUS - Palumbo states - Their desire is the best example for the younger players and for the girls team, who do not want to miss the HaBaWaBa events in 2023, in order to keep growing as athletes and as a person”.
