Girls’ inclusion ups Woodridge Stayers Water Polo Tournament to 28 teams
With the schools’ water polo season in full swing and nearing its conclusion, 28 schools – featuring 12 girls’ and 16 boys’ teams – will assemble in the small town of Thornhill, between Jeffreys Bay and Gqeberha, to contest the Woodridge College Stayers Water Polo Tournament over the weekend.
The second edition of the tournament kicks off on Thursday afternoon and concludes with the final at 14:00 on Sunday.
There’s an intriguing lineup of established sides and rising teams, and the event will also present them with an opportunity to transition and prepare for 2025.
Selborne College is the defending boys’ champion. Coached by Storm Siebert, they defeated St Andrew’s College 5-2 in last year’s final.
Behind them was Gqeberha’s Pearson High, who beat Merrifield College 5-2 to place third, while Cape Town’s Wynberg Boys’ High ended in fifth place, followed by Glenwood House, Grey High, Woodridge, Hudson Park, and Alexander Road, who completed the top 10.
Selborne heads into the tournament battle-hardened, having recently participated in two major events, the SACS and Clifton Water Polo Tournaments. At SACS, coach Siebert’s side, after starting well, narrowly missed out on the quarterfinals, while at Clifton, they finished in ninth place. They’re in Pool D, up against Pearson High, Stirling, and Saheti.
Pool A will be interesting, with Kingswood College, Reddam House Constantia B, Hudson, and Grey High set to battle for supremacy.
St Andrew’s College has been drawn in Pool B alongside Bridgehouse, Merrifield College, and Glenwood House, while Pool C will see three Western Cape teams – Wynberg Boys’ High, Paarl Boys’ High, and Somerset College – take on the hosts, Woodridge.
The tournament has been boosted by the addition of a girls’ section, which features 12 teams. The Eastern Cape sides include DSG Makhanda, Kingswood College, Collegiate Girls’ High, Stirling, Clarendon, Merrifield, Pearson, and Woodridge.
Somerset College, Bridgehouse, and Glenwood House represent the Western Cape, and Saheti makes the trip from Johannesburg.
FIXTURES
Thursday, 10 October
Girls
13:00 – Woodridge College vs Collegiate Girls’ High; 13:40 – Pearson High vs Glenwood House; 14:20 – Kingswood College vs Stirling High; 15:00 – Merrifield College vs DSG Makhanda; 17:40 – Woodridge College vs Kingswood College; 18:20 – Clarendon vs DSG Makhanda; 19:00 – Collegiate Girls’ High vs Stirling High; 19:40 – Glenwood House vs Merrifield.
Boys
15:40 – Grey High vs Kingswood College; 16:20 – Glenwood vs Merrifield College; 17:00 – Stirling High vs Pearson High
Friday, 11 October
Pool 1
Girls
10:20 – DSG Makhanda vs Somerset College; 11:00 – Bridgehouse vs Collegiate Girls’ High; 11:40 – Kingswood College vs Saheti; 12:20 – Glenwood House vs Clarendon; 13:00 – Woodridge College vs Stirling High; 14:20 – Glenwood House vs Somerset College; 15:00 – Kingswood College vs Bridgehouse; 15:40 – Clarendon vs Merrifield College; 18:20 – Pearson vs Somerset College; 19:40 – Saheti vs Bridgehouse.
Boys
07:00 – Kingswood College vs Reddam House Constantia B; 07:40 – Glenwood vs Bridgehouse; 08:20 – Woodridge College vs Wynberg Boys’ High; 09:00 – Somerset College vs Paarl Boys’ High; 09:40 – Stirling High vs Saheti; 13:40 – St Andrew’s College vs Glenwood; 16:20 – St Andrew’s College vs Bridgehouse; 17:00 – Somerset College vs Wynberg Boys’ High; 17:40 – Woodridge College vs Paarl Boys’ High; 19:00 – Selborne College vs Saheti; 20:20 – Hudson Park vs Reddam House Constantia B.
Pool 2
Girls
07:00 – Somerset College vs Merrifield College; 07:40 – DSG Makhanda vs Glenwood House; 08:20 – Kingswood College vs Collegiate Girls’; 09:00 – Stirling High vs Saheti; 09:40 – Woodridge College vs Bridgehouse; 10:20 – Clarendon vs Pearson High; 14:20 – DSG Makhanda vs Pearson High; 16:20 – Saheti vs Collegiate Girls’ High.
Boys
11:00 – Grey High vs Reddam Constantia B; 11:40 – Merrifield College vs St Andrew’s College; 12:20 – Woodridge College vs Somerset College; 13:00 – Wynberg Boys’ High vs Paarl Boys’ High; 13:40 – Saheti vs Pearson High; 15:00 – Kingswood College vs Hudson Park; 15:40 – Selborne College vs Stirling High; 17:00 – Selborne College vs Pearson High; 17:40 – Grey High vs Hudson; 18:20 – Merrifield vs Bridgehouse.
