Polls
Who runs the polls?
The polls are administrated by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. There are four polls released on a weekly basis by this organization. Other organizations may also have polls of their own. The polls released by the CWPA include:
- Top 20 Varsity-any varsity men’s team in the country is eligible (NCAA and NAIA) (Men only)
- Top 25 Varsity-any varsity women’s team in the country is eligible (NCAA and NAIA) (Women only)
- Top 10 Division III-any varsity Division III team in the country is eligible (Men and Women)
- Top 20 Collegiate Club-any collegiate club in the country is eligible (Men and Women)
- Top 5 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-any MAWPC varsity member is eligible (Men only)
- Top 5 Northeast Water Polo Conference – any NWPC varsity member is eligible (Men only)
- Collegiate Water Polo Association Division I – any CWPA Division I varsity team is eligible (Women only)
- Top 5 Collegiate Water Polo Association Division III – any CWPA Division III varsity team is eligible (Women only)
When are the polls released?
Varsity polls are released to nationwide media outlets and posted on the CWPA website every Wednesday by 5:00 PM EST. United States Water Polo has permission to reprint the poll on their website as well. Collegiate Club and CWPA Top 10 polls are posted on the CWPA website and are not released to media outlets.
Who are the pollsters?
Each poll has a set of pollsters that rank the teams. For example, there are 10 pollsters that rank the Varsity Top 20 polls. These pollsters represent all areas of the country and are drawn from each of the conferences and independents that make up collegiate water polo. The pollsters must be official representatives of their institutions and can be either coaches or staff from the Sports Information office. They maintain their position unless there are consistent discrepancies in their voting, demonstrating either an obvious bias or a lack of understanding of the process. New pollsters are selected through a nomination process and chosen by the staff of the Collegiate Water Polo Association. The names of the pollsters are kept in privacy by the CWPA office to prevent undue influence from being placed on them and impacting the polling process.
How are the teams ranked?
Pollsters examine scores and rank teams in light of these results. They are charged with ranking the teams to the best of their abilities without considering their subjective feelings about the strength of a team or individual factors affecting a team’s performance, such as injury or illness to specific athletes. Past history may affect the rankings, although the most recent scores bear more weight than earlier results.
Which scores are considered in the polls?
Only those scores received on Monday are considered for the week’s poll. Any scores received in the office after this time are reviewed for the following week’s poll. Scores can be emailed, faxed or phoned to the office before Monday at 12:00 Noon EST.
Do varsity results against clubs count towards the poll?
Yes and no. Varsity results against clubs DO NOT count towards their ranking. Club results against varsity teams are reported to the club pollsters and bear influence on the poll.
Do varsity/club results against National Teams or non-collegiate clubs count towards the poll?
No, only collegiate results count towards the polls.