WENATCHEE, Wash. – Though summer doesn’t officially start for a few weeks, things sure are heating up in southern California pools as the USA Water Polo National teams start their competitive seasons. Among the foods powering them to early success? Stemilt apples, pears, and cherries grown right in the Northwest!
Stemilt is the Official Fresh Fruit sponsor of USA Water Polo. The Men’s and Women’s National water polo teams kicked off their competitive season this month, and have been performing exceptionally well. Both teams defeated Canada twice to sweep the FINA World League Prelims on May 13-15 and May 20-21 in Newport Beach, CA.
The Men’s team defeated Canada 8-5 in the first match and 8-6 in the second match. The next weekend, the Women’s team rallied from behind to beat Canada in a shootout 12-10 in the first match, and then won the second match decisively by a score of 11-5.
This was the first of many tournaments the teams will take part in this summer, as well as a preview of the competition for the FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China which will run from July 16-31. Though still in its infancy, the partnership with USA Water Polo has benefitted both organizations in their effort to promote healthy living, said Roger Pepperl, Stemilt’s marketing director.
“The nutrition benefits of fresh fruits like apples, pears, and cherries are well-known by athletes of the caliber as those on the USA Water Polo National teams. Stemilt and USA Water Polo both know that there is still work to do on educating consumers about the benefits of these fruits., and that’s where our partnership comes in. They’ll help us promote our fruits at the store level in order to increase fruit consumption, while our fruits will hit the road with them as they compete in tournaments this summer.”
In addition to web and social media programs that are already in place, Stemilt and USA Water Polo plan to extend their partnership this fall with an in-store promotion surrounding apples. “We’re excited to launch our Apples – The Original Superfood promotion this, which will feature several Olympic athletes on merchandising display bins and in-store signage,” said Pepperl.
To learn more USA Water Polo, visit their website www.usawaterpolo.org or become a fan of their Facebook page www.facebook.com/USAWP. And to stay up with the latest from Stemilt’s farms, join their social media community by becoming a fan on Facebook, www.facebook.com/stemilt and a follower on Twitter, www.twitter.com/stemilt.
About Stemilt
Stemilt Growers is a leading tree fruit growing, packing and shipping company based in Wenatchee, Washington. Owned and operated by the Mathison family, Stemilt is the leading shipper of sweet cherries and the largest supplier of organic tree fruits in the nation. Stemilt has also demonstrated a commitment to sustainable agriculture and social responsibility since 1989, when founder Tom Mathison launched the company’s Responsible Choice program.
About USA Water Polo
USA Water Polo, Inc. is the national governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic program as well as 20 different championship events annually, such as Junior Olympics and Masters Championships. With nearly 40,000 members, USAWP is also the sanctioning authority for more than 600 tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the sport nationwide. It fosters grassroots expansion of the sport, providing a national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches and officials
Source: Stemilt Growers
