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It’s all systems go for the Brian Baker Water Polo Tournament


Kingswood College 1st Team Water Polo goalie Julia Hough blocks a shot from Woodridge in 2024. Photo: Jackie Clausen.

“Spectators can expect high intensity and action-packed early season rivalries in the pool.”

That was the promise from Kyle Kumm, the organiser of the 2025 edition of the Brian Baker Water Polo Tournament, which will be played at Kingswood College, in Makhanda, from 23 to 26 January.

The tournament is in its 14th year and is named after Brian Baker, a passionate educationalist and a deep lover of sport to whom much of the success of girls’ water polo in South Africa is attributed. Baker was a fierce competitor who also believed that sport offered valuable life lessons to competitors and everyone around them.

“We continue to hold these beliefs close to our hearts and hope that our 2025 tournament will foster lifelong friendships, grit, determination, and a genuine love for water polo,” Leon Grové, the Kingswood College Head, stated in a press release.

Kumm, the tournament organiser, shares those sentiments. “We encourage teams to play hard, play fair, and enjoy the excitement that comes with participating in a tournament,” he said.

Kumm also coaches the Kingswood first team, so, because of his coaching commitments, he will relinquish control of the organising to the highly respected Ian Melliar.

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The early season showdown offers an opportunity for teams to assess themselves and to improve on their performances from last year, while the dominant outfits will be keen to carry on from where they left off before the holidays.

Herschel, the defending champion, will be one of the 20 teams battling for supremacy at the showpiece.

In 2024, Alex Hawkins’ side overcame Reddam House Constantia 14-11 in a thrilling final. They will begin their title defence with a Pool C showdown against DSG Makhanda. They’ll also face Collegiate Girls’ High School, Hudson Park, and St Mary’s Waverley in the group phase of the event.

While Herschel went on to add the Old Petrians‘ title to their list of achievements, last year’s runners-up, Reddam House Constantia, enjoyed success later in the year,  beating Herschel to win the Mackenzie Cup in home waters, and they also won the St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament against a high-quality field in KZN. They gave Herschel a good run for their money in the 2024 title game, and it was only in the last chukka that their Cape Town rivals pulled clear.

Reddam will be aiming to go a step further at Kingswood this time around. They’re in Pool B, where they will compete against Durban Girls’ College (DGC), Glenwood House, Pearson, and Reddam House Bedfordview. DGC claimed the National Aquatics Festival honours in early 2024, while Reddam House Bedfordview lifted the Roedean Prestige Cup in October.

Perennial favourites, Roedean, finished in third place last year and closed off the tournament with a 14-7 victory over Clarendon. They will, also, be aiming to go all the way in 2025 after winning the St Stithians Invitational at the end of October. They are in Pool D with the hosts, Kingswood, Alexander Road, St Anne’s, and Stirling. The KZN girls, runners-up in their own St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament, will likely prove to be Roedean’s toughest group-stage opponents.

Pool A should be very competitive and it would be no surprise if one, two, or even three teams from the group challenge for the title.

Last year’s fourth-place finishers, Clarendon, take on Rhenish, St Dominic’s, St Stithians, and Woodridge. St Stithians, especially, has a proven record of excellence and will be one of the teams to watch out for. They, together with St Domonic’s and Rhenish, completed last year’s Brian Baker tournament with a victory. Woodridge found the going tougher, but they’ll be keen to improve on last year’s performances despite a very tough Pool D lineup.

The first whistles will sound at 12:00 on Thursday, when Roedean takes on Kingswood at Kingswood, while DSG Makhanda locks horns with Collegiate at DSG Makhanda.

Day one fixtures

12:00: Roedean vs Kingswood, DSG Makhanda vs Collegiate
12:50: Reddam Bedfordview vs DGC, St Dominic’s vs Woodridge
13:40: Pearson vs Glenwood, St Mary’s vs Hudson
14:30: Roedean vs Alexander Road, St Stithians vs Rhenish
15:20: St Anne’s vs Stirling, Clarendon vs Woodridge
16:10: Reddam Bedfordview vs Pearson, St Mary’s vs Collegiate
17:00: Herschel vs DSG, Reddam House Constantia vs DGC
17:50: Kingswood vs Stirling

CS Chiwanza
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.