Sierra Shootout offers back-to-back weekends of boys’ and girls’ high school water polo tournaments on Sept 6-7 and 13-14 in Placer Valley

ROSEVILLE, Calif. – Game-winning goals, power plays, race-to-the-ball swim-offs and skip shots are just part of back-to-back weekends of the Sierra Shootout/Chuck McCollum Invitational, the largest and one of the longest-running boys’ and girls’ high school water polo tournaments on the West Coast.

The Sierra Shootout starts with the boys’ tournament on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 6-7) at Sierra College in Rocklin and at multiple high schools in Placer Valley (check the schedule for the locations and teams). The girls’ tournament is the following Friday and Saturday (Sept. 13-14) at Sierra College and nearby high schools (check the schedule for locations and teams).

Both are 64-team tournaments, with high schools from the Sacramento region, Bay Area, Central Valley and Reno participating. Some of the Sacramento-area high school teams competing include Del Oro, Inderkum, Lincoln, McClatchy, Rocklin, Roseville, West Park and Whitney.

Matches start at 7 a.m. and continue until 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $5 per day, and the wristbands allow admission to games at any of the schools.

“The tournament is huge,” said Scott Decker, Head Coach of the women’s water polo team at Sierra College. “It’s grown and got so much bigger.”

The Sierra Shootout/Chuck McCollum Invitational – named after the longtime water polo coach at St. Francis High School and assistant coach at Sierra College and Del Oro – started with eight girls’ high school water polo teams in 1994. The goal of the tournament was to help expand and promote women’s water polo in Northern California.

After a decade, boys’ teams were added and the back-to-back weekend tournaments expanded fast to reach as many as 64 teams – and a total of 320 games.

About 2,000 athletes will compete during the two weekends of the Sierra Shootout, with almost as many family members and fans watching the matches.

“It’s very good competition,” Decker said. “It’s also a great fundraiser (for the local water polo programs) and good recruiting for us.”

The Sierra Shootout is also good for the Placer Valley economy. The back-to-back weekend tournaments will generate at least $1.5 million, from meals at restaurants to overnight stays at hotels.

“The Sierra Shootout is a great success story, with such a grassroot beginning that has now become one the largest high school water polo tournaments in the nation,” said Kim Summers, CEO of Placer Valley Tourism and @the Grounds, home of the Roebbelen Center. “The Sierra Shootout is an excellent example of the diversity of sports – and opportunities for tournaments – in Placer Valley.”

The Sierra Shootout has been at the center of the growth of water polo in the Sacramento region and Northern California during the past three decades.

About 27,400 high school athletes – including 12,600 girls – participate in the sport in California, according to the California Interscholastic Federation. Today, almost 990 high schools have girls’ water polo teams in the state, compared to 545 a decade ago.

Much of the growth is connected to the coverage of men’s and women’s water polo teams during the past few Summer Olympics.

The U.S. men’s team won the bronze medal (third place) in the Paris games. The men’s team had a connection to the Sacramento region.

Matt Ustaszewski, an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s water polo team, is a former All-American at Sierra College and Rocklin High School. Alex Obert, a former All-American water polo player at Del Oro High School in Loomis and aquatics athlete at Sierra College, was a member of the bronze-winning U.S. team

The U.S. women’s water polo team finished fourth in Paris, ending six consecutive Olympics of taking home a medal – including three consecutive gold medals.

“Water polo has changed so much, especially for women,” said Decker. “(The Olympics) have really inspired more girls to play. The sport has really taken off. It’s really blossomed.”

About @the Grounds

@the Grounds is a multipurpose event facility on 61 acres in the heart of Roseville, California. @the Grounds includes the Roebbelen Center, a 160,000-square-foot event center that can accommodate major amateur sports competitions, large meetings, trade shows, concerts and other events. For more than 80 years, @the Grounds has been the home of the Placer County Fair – an annual celebration of the diversity of the community – along with countless other community, family and corporate gatherings. @the Grounds is the business entity of Placer Valley Sports Complex, a 501(c)3. For more information, please visit https://www.atthegrounds.com/.

About Placer Valley Tourism

Placer Valley Tourism is a Business Improvement District that serves South Placer County and the cities of Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln. The BID operates to help generate incremental room night stays in hotels within Placer Valley Tourism’s geographic footprint through various conferences and youth and amateur sports events. PVT aims to coordinate community and sports events with the best hospitality options in the region. Placer Valley Tourism is a nonprofit and classified as a 501(c)6. For more information, please visit https://www.placertourism.com/.