Buffalo City aims high in home waters
The Buffalo City u19 girls’ water polo team will open their Schools Water Polo South Africa Inter-Provincial Tournament campaign with a tough clash against Central Gauteng A at the Joan Harrison Swimming Pools in East London on Saturday.
Saturday’s opener is the first of four games in the pool stage of the competition for the home team. The event, which is the pinnacle of schools’ water polo in South Africa, runs from 7-11 December.
This year, the competition will be tighter than ever, with a new format pitting the top five girls’ teams against one another in the same pool. In past IPTs, the top sides have been split across two pools.
That, pretty much, means every match is a must-win clash. If teams are to secure a place in the playoffs, they’ll have to be on their game from their very first outing.
All eyes will be on Pool A, which features the top five sides: Western Province A, Central Gauteng, Nelson Mandela Bay, and KwaZulu-Natal.
The head coach of Buffalo City, Paige Meecham, is confident her team will rise to the occasion. “We’ve been working really hard, training for the past three months as a unit,” she said.
“The girls have been putting in lots of time and lots of effort. I’m very happy. I think we’re in a good space before the tournament, and, hopefully, we can carry that into the tournament.”
Fine-tuning key areas, such as mobility and movement in attack and defence, has been the focus of Buffalo City’s preparation.
The players in the squad complement the style of play that Meecham wants her charges to produce.
The largest contingent of players, seven in total, are from Clarendon High School for Girls: Jasmine Koch, Meka Loots, Alison Woodin, Jessica Schaefer, Julianne Saffy, and the SA u18 duo of Tori Voke and Kiyara Campbell.
Striling High School will be represented by Roxy Van Eek, Megan Schwartz, and Tatum Knox, while Hudson Park’s Erin Batting and Rania Khan complete the lineup.
Reflecting on the make-up of the team, Meecham said: “There were eight selectors at the trials that helped select the side. It’s a well-rounded team. Two girls, who didn’t play in the Currie Cup at the beginning of the year, have made the team now.
“It also has an even split with seven matrics and six grade 11s, so there will be continuity going forward into next year.”
Buffalo City heads into the tournament keen to improve on their showing in the Currie Cup, which was played in March. It also took place in East London, and Buffalo City finished fifth, just behind KwaZulu-Natal.
Meecham believes they’ve taken lessons from that event. “We have watched a lot of those Currie Cup games,” she revealed. “We did video analysis. We learnt from them, and lots of growth has come out of watching those games.
“We have identified areas that were problematic, and areas of positivity. There’s a lot we’ve taken out and want to fix.”
Meecham succeeds Hannah Muller as coach of the Buffalo City side. Muller was in charge at last year’s IPT in Gqeberha.
It will be Meecham’s second stint with the u19 side after coaching a younger age group in 2023. She said she’s looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m very excited to work with these girls. They are a very awesome group. They’ve grown up insanely well in front of our juniors, and I’m excited to see how they rise to the massive occasion.
“I firmly believe this team has the potential and drive to do well at this tournament. Hopefully, we put all the pieces together at the right moments, especially playing at home in front of our home crowd,” she ended.
BUFFALO CITY U19 GIRLS’ POOL FIXTURES
7 December
17:35- Buffalo City A vs Central Gauteng A
8 December
11:20- Buffalo City A vs KwaZulu-Natal
9 December
07:00- Buffalo City A vs Western Province A
12:25- Buffalo City A vs Nelson Mandela Bay
Buffalo City u19 Girls’ Team
Jasmine Koch, Meka Loots, Alison Woodin, Jessica Schaefer, Julianne Saffy, Tori Voke, and Kiyara Campbell (Clarendon High School for Girls), Roxy Van Eek, Megan Schwartz, Tatum Knox (Stirling High School), Erin Batting, and Rania Khan (Hudson Park High School).
