Welcome back to HaBaWaBa, more than just a competition

Here we are at last, after a year of forced suspension due to the tragic pandemic that also affected the HaBaWaBa world. Tomorrow at Bella Italia & EFA Village in Lignano Sabbiadoro (Italy) HaBaWaBa International Festival and HaBaWaBa PLUS will be back and we at Waterpolo Development couldn't be happier and prouder. 

Yes, we are, because if you think that the main HaBaWaBa events have been and are today just simple youth sport competitions, you would be in a very serious mistake. Because if so, the damage caused by their absence in 2020 would be limited to our sport: we would have the stop of players recruitment for a season which will influence the development of certain age groups in terms of numbers and technical quality. However HaBaWaBa is much more, with the pride of those who created it we can say that it’s the very essence of the game of educational process! HaBaWaBa teaches kids to discover the world and its diversity, to experience the value of rules, to meet others and be with them, to manage emotions, to know reality trying and failing, to solve problems individually and as a team.  In a nutshell, HaBaWaBa prepares kids for life. This is what our children lacked in 2020 and this is what we are now called upon to make up for, even amidst the difficulties of our times.   Due to the pandemic, the necessary anti-Covid measures implemented in the last year and the financial troubles of sports clubs we risked to lose all that HaBaWaBa represented since 2008 to present: a moment of celebration, joy, in the name of the values of sport and passion for waterpolo. However the HaBaWaBa dream has been stronger than everything: after the cancellation of the 2020 events, we raised the limit of the age categories, going from U9, U11 and U13 to U10, U12 and U14, in order to allow the kids who were let down a year ago to participate in 2021. The number of participants - 59 teams and 698 kids - says that we were right: young players, coaches, clubs and parents responded enthusiastically and made the great return of HaBaWaBa possible. I deeply thank all of them. And of course I thank our sponsors Turbo, C.A.G. Chemical, Compact Goals and Ossidabile: without them HaBaWaBa would not have made it. So thanks, and happy HaBaWaBa to all of you!

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