There is no fun if there is no respect. There’s no real sport if there is no real sharing of its most noble values. For these reasons, the HaBaWaBa International Festival cannot simply be defined as a sporting event. It is an event for children that is based primarily on the ethics and the values of sport, mutual respect, integration between different ethnic groups and fair play: no victory can be defined as such if it is not achieved in respect of your opponent. Every person involved in the HaBaWaBa International Festival – children, coaches, team leaders, parents, fans – is therefore required to comply with these values.

In order to enhance these principles, Waterpolo Development decided to establish the “HaBaWaBa Fair Play Trophy”. This recognition will be awarded to the team that, more than any other during the festival, demonstrates via their behaviour that they have embraced the principles of HaBaWaBa. The purpose of this award is to fight against bad conduct and encourage positive behaviour. An evaluation of each team will be submitted in the report of the match by the secretary.

This assessment applies to all teams for all games of the tournament. At the end of the event, the teams will be classified taking into account all the points given in all games of the tournament. In order to make the rankings fair and in order not to penalize the teams that get eliminated in the stage after the first, an average of the score will be taken into consideration, i.e. the number of points earned divided by the number of games played. In case there is a tie, during the closing ceremony immediately before the awards ceremony of the finalists of the tournament, there will be a draw among the teams tied on points for the allocation of the HaBaWaBa Fair Play Trophy.