Churning waters, all-out action awaits at Saints Water Polo Invitational
An exciting four days of action awaits at the 31st edition of the St Stithians Water Polo Invitational Tournament.
Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools
With many of the country’s best schoolgirls’ water polo-playing teams in action, the stayers’ event is a stage-setter for the talent that will lead the game over the next year.
The boys’ competition features 20 teams, while the girls’ competition has 16 sides, divided into four pools. Over the first two days, all teams will play two matches per day in the group stage.
Pool A opens the tournament with a clash between Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) Makhanda and Crawford Lonehill.
Herschel Girls High, one of the favourites who finished in third place at last year’s tournament, will begin their campaign against Clarendon High, while Woodridge College will be out to make waves when they take on Crawford Lonehill and Herschel.
In Pool B, St Anne’s Diocesan College, fourth place finishers in their home tournament recently, takes on Collegiate Girls’ High in the first of that group’s fixtures.
Thursday’s schedule also pits Reddam House Bedfordview against Reddam House Constantia, in an interesting clash between the north’s Reddam powerhouse and the south’s Reddam powerhouse. St Peter’s College opens their account against the Eastern Cape’s Collegiate Girls’ High.
Pool C includes the 2024 winners, Roedean, St Mary’s Waverley, Beaulieu College, Pearson High, and St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls.
Roedean, who recently won the Prestige Cup, will begin their title defence against St Dominic’s, last year’s ninth-place finishers. Beaulieu takes on Pearson in their opener.
The host, St Stithians College, will aim to make home waters work for them in Pool D. They’re up against Durban Girls’ College (DGC), Kingswood College, Kingsmead College, and Rhenish Girls’ High.
Earlier this year, Saints claimed the Reef Cup. More recently, they won the St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament, and they’ll be the hot favourites in their group. Their quest for glory begins with a clash against Kingswood, followed by a showdown with Rhenish later in the day.
DGC, the winners of the KZN Top 10 and the Mackenzie Cup, were a little off their game at the St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament after a heavy workload, but they’ll have had time to regroup and will be a big threat. They take on Kingsmead College in their first game.
POOLS
Pool A: Clarendon, Crawford Lonehill, DSG Makhanda, Herschel, Woodridge
Pool B: Collegiate, Reddam Bedfordview, Reddam Constantia, St Anne’s, St Peter’s
Pool C: Beaulieu, Pearson, Roedean, St Dominic’s, St Mary’s Waverley
Pool D: DGC, Kingsmead, Kingswood, Rhenish, St Stithians
FIXTURES
Thursday, 16 October
Pool A
07:50 – DSG vs Crawford Lonehill
10:20 – Herschel vs Clarendon
12:00 – Crawford Lonehill vs Woodridge
14:30 – DSG vs Clarendon
17:00 – Herschel vs Woodridge
Pool B
07:50 – St Anne’s vs Collegiate
10:20 – Reddam Bedfordview vs Reddam Constantia
12:50 – Collegiate vs St Peter’s
14:30 – St Anne’s vs Reddam Constantia
17:00 – Reddam Bedfordview vs St Peter’s
Pool C
08:40 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Beaulieu College
10:20 – Roedean vs St Dominic’s
12:50 – Beaulieu vs Pearson
15:20 – St Mary’s Waverley vs St Dominic’s
17:00 – Roedean vs Pearson
Pool D
08:40 – DGC vs Kingsmead
11:10 – St Stithians vs Kingswood
12:50 – Kingsmead vs Rhenish
15:20 – DGC vs Kingswood
17:50 – St Stithians vs Rhenish
Friday, 17 October
Pool A
07:50 – Clarendon vs Woodridge
10:20 – Herschel vs Crawford Lonehill
12:00 – DSG vs Woodridge
14:30 – Clarendon vs Crawford Lonehill
17:00 – DSG vs Herschel
Pool B
07:50 – Reddam Constantia vs St Peter’s
10:20 – Reddam Bedfordview vs Collegiate
12:50 – St Anne’s vs St Peter’s
14:30 – Reddam Constantia vs Collegiate
17:00 – St Anne’s vs Reddam House Bedfordview
Pool C
08:40 – St Dominic’s vs Pearson
10:20 – Roedean vs Beaulieu
12:50 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Pearson
15:20 – St Dominic’s vs Beaulieu
17:00 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Roedean
Pool D
08:40 – Kingswood vs Rhenish
11:10 – St Stithians vs Kingsmead
12:50 – St Mary’s Waverley vs Pearson
15:20 – Kingswood vs Kingsmead
17:50 – St Stithians vs DGC
