The 2012 FINA Women's Water Polo World League is played between February and June 2012 and open to all women's water polo national teams. After playing in groups within the same continent, eight teams qualify to play in a final tournament, called the Super Final in Changshu, China from 29 May - 3 June 2012.[1] The two teams that reach the final of the Super Final will be the first teams to quality for the water polo tournament of the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona.[2]
| 2012 FINA Women's Water Polo World League | |
|---|---|
| League | FINA Water Polo World League |
| Sport | Water Polo |
| Duration | 2012 |
| Super Final | |
In the world league, there are specific rules that do not allow matches to end in a draw.[3] If teams are level at the end of the 4th quarter of any world league match, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout. Teams earn points in the standings in group matches as follows:
- Match won in normal time - 3 points
- Match won in shootout - 2 points
- Match lost in shootout - 1 point
- Match lost in normal time - 0 points
Draw
Americas
As there were only 3 entries, all teams in this region played in a single group.
Asia/Oceania
As there were only 4 entries, all teams in this region will play in a single group.
Europe
There were 8 entries into the league from Europe, and these were drawn into two groups of four teams. The teams were placed into groups based on their performance in the 2011 FINA Women's Water Polo World League.
| Line | Country | 2011 FINA Women's Water Polo World League result | Drawn into Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Italy | 2nd, Super Final | A |
| 1 |  Russia | 5th, Super Final | B |
| 2 |  Greece | 7th, Super Final | B |
| 2 |  Spain | 8th, Super Final | A |
| 3 |  Hungary | 3rd, Europe Group 1 (8 pts) | A |
| 3 |  Great Britain | 4th, Europe Group 1 (3 pts) | B |
| 4 |  Germany | 3rd, Europe Group 2 (0 pts) | A |
| 4 |  Netherlands | Did not participate | B |
Americas League
All teams played the other teams twice. All matches were held in various locations in Orange County, California, United States from 20–22 February 2012. The top two teams advanced to the Super Final.
| Team advances to Super Final |
| Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  United States | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 20 | +40 | 12 |
| 2. |  Canada | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 47 | 33 | +14 | 6 |
| 3. |  Brazil | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 65 | -54 | 0 |
| 20 February 2012 10:30 PST (UTC-8) | Scoresheet | United States | 19–1 | Brazil | Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California, United States |
| 20 February 2012 19:00 PST (UTC-8) | Scoresheet | United States | 13–11 | Canada | Commerce Aquatorium, Commerce, California, United States |
| 21 February 2012 10:30 PST (UTC-8) | Scoresheet | Canada | 16–1 | Brazil | Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California, United States |
| 21 February 2012 19:00 PST (UTC-8) | Scoresheet | United States | 17–1 | Brazil | Arnold O. Beckman High School, Irvine, California, United States |
| 22 February 2012 10:30 PST (UTC-8) | Scoresheet | Canada | 13–8 | Brazil | Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California, United States |
| 22 February 2012 19:00 PST (UTC-8) | Scoresheet | United States | 11–7 | Canada | Woollett Aquatics Center, Irvine, California, United States |
Asia/Oceania League
All teams will play the other teams twice. The first round-robin will be held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai and the second round-robin will be held from 8–12 May 2012 at the Chiba International Swimming Complex in Narashino, Chiba, Japan. The winner will advance to the Super Final. As China has already qualified as the hosts, if they win the Asia/Oceania League, the second-placed team will advance.
| Team advances to Super Final |
| Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  China | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 53 | 28 | +25 | 9 |
| 2. |  Australia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 9 |
| 3. |  Japan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 59 | -38 | 0 |
Europe League
All teams will play the other teams in their group twice. All games in Group A will be played from 10–13 May 2012 in Syracuse, Sicily, Italy, and all games in Group B will be played from 10–13 May 2012 in Volos, Greece. The top two teams in each group will advance to the Super Final.
| Team advances to Super Final |
Group A
| Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 11 |
| 2. | Italy | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 10 |
| 3. | Hungary | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 63 | 60 | +3 | 0 |
| 4. | Spain | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 47 | 62 | -15 | 5 |
Group B
| Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Greece | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 18 |
| 2. | Russia | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 51 | +6 | 12 |
| 3. | Netherlands | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 41 | 49 | -8 | 6 |
| 4. | Great Britain | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 39 | 54 | -15 | 0 |
| 10 May 2012 18:30 EEST (UTC+3) | Russia | 9–8 | Great Britain | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 10 May 2012 20:15 EEST (UTC+3) | Greece | 7–4 | Netherlands | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 11 May 2012 10:30 EEST (UTC+3) | Russia | 13–9 | Netherlands | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 11 May 2012 12:15 EEST (UTC+3) | Greece | 8–7 | Great Britain | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 11 May 2012 18:30 EEST (UTC+3) | Netherlands | 8–7 | Great Britain | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 11 May 2012 20:15 EEST (UTC+3) | Greece | 7–6 | Russia | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 12 May 2012 10:30 EEST (UTC+3) | Russia | 11–7 | Great Britain | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 12 May 2012 12:15 EEST (UTC+3) | Greece | 10–5 | Netherlands | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 12 May 2012 18:30 EEST (UTC+3) | Russia | 8–7 | Netherlands | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 12 May 2012 20:15 EEST (UTC+3) | Greece | 10–6 | Great Britain | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 13 May 2012 10:30 EEST (UTC+3) | Netherlands | 8–4 | Great Britain | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
| 13 May 2012 12:15 EEST (UTC+3) | Greece | 13–10 | Russia | Vasilis Polymeros Pool, Nea Ionia, Volos |
Super Final
Preliminary round: Group A
| Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 13 | +22 | 9 |
| 2. | China | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 23 | +10 | 6 |
| 3. | Greece | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 31 | -2 | 3 |
| 4. | Germany | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 48 | -30 | 0 |
Preliminary round: Group B
| Team | G | W | SOW | SOL | L | GF | GA | Diff | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 12 | +26 | 8 |
| 2. | Russia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 16 | +16 | 7 |
| 3. | Canada | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 34 | +14 | 3 |
| 4. | Italy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 37 | -28 | 0 |
Final round
| Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||||||||||
| A1 | United States | 11 | ||||||||||||
| B4 | Italy | 2 | ||||||||||||
| A1 | United States | 7 | ||||||||||||
| A3 | Greece | 6 | ||||||||||||
| A3 | Greece | 11 | ||||||||||||
| B2 | Russia | 9 | ||||||||||||
| A1 | United States | 6 | ||||||||||||
| B1 | Australia | 4 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | China | 13 | ||||||||||||
| B3 | Canada | 7 | ||||||||||||
| A2 | China | 7 | Third place | |||||||||||
| B1 | Australia | 8 | ||||||||||||
| A4 | Germany | 0 | A3 | Greece | 8 | |||||||||
| B1 | Australia | 18 | A2 | China | 7 | |||||||||
Bronze-medal match
| 3 June 2012 | China | 7–8 | Greece | Changshu, China |
| Score by quarters: 1-2, 4-2, 1-2, 1-2 | ||||
Final
| 3 June 2012 | Australia | 4–6 | United States | Changshu, China |
| Score by quarters: 1-2, 3-1, 0-1, 0-2 | ||||
Final ranking
| 2012 FINA Women's Water Polo World League |
|---|
 United States Seventh title |
- Team Roster
Betsey Armstrong, Heather Petri, Melissa Seidemann, Brenda Villa (C), Lauren Wenger, Maggie Steffens, Courtney Mathewson, Jessica Steffens, Elsie Windes, Kelly Rulon, Annika Dries, Kami Craig, Tumua Anae. Head coach: Adam Krikorian.