NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College men’s water polo team is headed to Germany for a week-long educational trip involving three games against German competition, leaving on May 22 and returning May 29.
The Camels will arrive in Luxembourg before taking a bus to Bitburg, Germany, where they will visit the Kolmeshohe Military Cemetery on Wednesday. The team will then travel to Bonn, Germany where they will take a walking tour of the town, as well as a tour of Ludwig van Beethoven’s house on Thursday, May 23.
“The nice thing about doing these trips is that it exemplifies the goal of the college,” said head coach Matt Anderson. “We want all of the students on campus to expand their horizons and connect what they are learning to what is out there within the world.”
Following the two days of tours, Conn will take to the pool for their first practice in Krefeld in the morning, before a tour of the Heinrich-Heine-Institute in Dusseldorf. The Camels will return to Krefeld in the evening for their first game of the trip against SV Bayer Uerdingen 08 at 7:00 p.m.
The Camels return to the pool on Saturday, May 25, with another morning practice before a bus tour around Dusseldorf and the surrounding area. The team returns to action that night, taking on the Dusseldorf Water Polo Club at 7:00 p.m.
The final day of competition on Sunday, May 26, begins with another morning practice followed by a tour of the NS-Documentation Center of the City of Cologne. Conn’s final game takes place that night for the second match up against SV Bayer Uerdingen 08 at 7:00 p.m.
The last two days of the trip will be spent on tours, on Monday the team will take a boat tour of the Moselle River Valley along the Belgium, France and Germany border. On Tuesday, the Camels will take their last tour, visiting Eltz Castle, which sits on the hills above the Moselle River in Wierschem, Germany, before the team returns home the following day.
Anderson added, “This trip gives the players an opportunity to expand their horizons, not only by competing against German teams, but by seeing the architecture, the culture, and the language. As I always tell recruits, water polo is more than just water polo if you come to play at Connecticut College.”
The trip to Europe is the third overall trip for the water polo program, and the second for the men’s program after previously traveling to Perusia and Florence in Italy in 2018. Additionally, the women’s program traveled in 2019 to Valencia and Barcelona in Spain, with plans for the women to travel to Scandinavia next year.
Release courtesy Connecticut College Athletics Communications
