Reef Cup on the line as Saints aim to go back-to-back
The annual Reef Cup Water Polo Invitational Tournament will again roll out the red carpet for Zimbabwean and South African girls’ schools for the 2024 edition of the event.
The four-day tournament is being hosted by the 2023 champions, St Stithians College, and it splashes off on Thursday morning, with the final being contested at the main pool on Sunday at 13:10.
There are 20 schools in attendance, each of which will face a challenging pathway to the final.
To kick things off, Zimbabwe’s Hellenic Academy takes on Parktown High School for Girls in the Saints Olympic South pool in a Pool A clash.
Alongside them, Reddam House Bedfordview tackles Steyn City School, in the Saints main Polo pool.
Last year’s runners-up, Roedean School, will kickstart their campaign by splashing it out against the Tournament Invitation Team in the main pool at 10:20.
Meanwhile, the reigning champions will welcome the Zimbabwean side, Falcon College. When the teams met last year, during an extraordinarily successful season for St Stithians, the hosts overpowered their opponents 19-1.
Coach Etienne Le Roux‘s troops will be looking to add another Reef Cup title to their cabinet after a spectacular 2023 season, which brought Saints eight tournament titles, including, among others, the Saints Invitational, Old Petrian’s, and the National Aquatics Festival titles.
Adding more significance to the weekend’s event is the fact that it will be Le Roux’s last outing with Saints, so they will, no doubt, be motivated to send their coach off on a high ahead of his departure for Rondebosch Boys’ High.
The second day will deliver more exciting action, with the Eastern Cape’s Woodridge College set to face KwaZulu-Natal’s Maris Stella. They’re not unfamiliar opponents. Last year, Woodridge doubled-up Maris Stella, recording a 10-5 win.
This year the Durban school will be aiming for a better run after going winless at the 2023 Reef Cup.
In Pool C, Beaulieu College will test themselves against Rand Park High, while the 2023’s fourth place finishers, Crawford College (Lonehill), are up against local opposition when they challenge Kingsmead College.
The champions will be crowned on Sunday afternoon in the main polo pool. It’s going to be a test of endurance and skill. The teams that handle it best will play off for the silverware.
POOLS
Pool A – Hellenic Academy (Zimbabwe), Parktown High School for Girls (Johannesburg), Pretoria High School for Girls (Pretoria), Roedean School (Johannesburg), Tournament Invitation Team
Pool B – Maris Stella School (Durban), Reddam Bedfordview Girls (Johannesburg), St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls (Boksburg), Steyn City School (Johannesburg), Woodridge College (Eastern Cape)
Pool C – Beaulieu College (Johannesburg), Crawford College Lonehill (Johannesburg), Kingsmead College (Johannesburg), Rand Park High (Johannesburg), Reddam House Helderfontein (Johannesburg)
Pool D – Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool (Pretoria), Falcon College (Zimbabwe), Reddam House Umhlanga (KZN), St Peter’s College (Johannesburg), St Stithians College (Johannesburg)
Day 1, Thursday 29 February 2024 @ St Stithians College, Sandton
07h50 – (1) Hellenic v Parktown, (2) Reddam Bedfordview v Steyn City; 08h40- (3) Kingsmead v Beaulieu, (4) Reddam Umhlanga v St Peter’s; 10h20 – (5) Roedean v Tournament Invitation, (6) St Dominic’s v Woodridge, (7) Crawford Lonehill v Rand Park; 11h10 – (8) St Stithians v Falcon; 12h00 – (9) Parktown v Pretoria High; 12h50 – (10) Steyn City v Maris Stella, (11) Beaulieu v Reddam Helderfontein, (12 ) St Peter’s v Afrikaans Hoër; 14h30 – (13) Hellenic v Tournament Invitation, (14) Reddam Bedfordview v Woodridge; 15h20 – (15) Kingsmead v Rand Park, (16) Reddam Umhlanga v Falcon; 17h00 – (17) Roedean v Pretoria High, (18) St Dominic’s v Maris Stella, (19) , Crawford Lonehill v Reddam Helderfontein; 17h50 – (20) St Stithians v Afrikaans Hoër
Day 2, Friday 1 March 2024 @ St Stithians College, Sandton
07h50 – (21) Tournament Invitation v Pretoria High, (22) Woodridge v Maris Stella; 8h40 – (23) Rand Park v Reddam Helderfontein, (24) Afrikaans Hoër v Falcon; 10h20 – (25) Roedean v Parktown (26) St Dominic’s v Steyn City, (27) Crawford Lonehill v Beaulieu; 11h10 – (28) St Stithians v St Peter’s; 12h00 – (29) Hellenic v Pretoria High; 12h50 – (30) Reddam Bedfordview v Maris Stella; (31) Kingsmead v Reddam Helderfontein; (32) Reddam Umhlanga v Afrikaans Hoër; 14h30 – (33) Tournament Invitation v Parktown, (34) Woodridge v Steyn City; 15h20 – (35) Rand Park v Beaulieu, (36) Falcon v St Peter’s; 17h00 – (37) Hellenic v Roedean, (38) Reddam Bedfordview v St Dominic’s, (39) Kingsmead v Crawford Lonehill; 17h50 – (40); St Stithians v Reddam Umhlanga
Day 3, Saturday 2 March 2024 @St Stithians College, Sandton
07h50 – (41) A1 v B3, (42) B2 v A3; 8h40 – (43) C2 v D3, (44) D2 v C3; 10h20 – (45) A5 v B4, (46) A4 v B5, (47) C5 v D4; 11h10 – (48) C4 v D5; 12h00 – (49) A1 v Winner Game 43; 12h50 – (50) Winner Game 44 v B1, (51) Winner Game 41 v C1, (52) D1 v Winner Game 42; 13h40 – (53) Loser Game 45 v Loser Game 47; 14h30 – (54) Loser Game 46 v Loser Game 48; 15h20 – (55) Loser Game 43 v Loser Game 41; (56) Loser Game 44 v Loser Game 42; 16h10 – (57) Winner Game 47 v Winner Game 45; 17h00 – (58) Winner Game 46 v Winner Game 48; 17h50 – (59) Winner Game 50 v Winner Game 49, (60) Loser Game 50 (QF2) v Loser Game 49; (61) Loser Game 50 v Loser Game 49; 18h40 – (62) Loser Game 52 v Loser Game 51
Day 4, Sunday 3 March 2024 @St Stithians College, Sandton
07h50 – (63) Loser Game 53 v Loser Game 54, (64) Winner Game 53 v Winner Game 54, (65) Loser Game 57 v Loser Game 58, 09h30 – (66) Winner Game 57 v Winner Game 58; (67) Loser Game 55 v Loser Game 56, (68) Loser Game 55 v Loser Game 56; 11h10 – (69) Loser Game 61 v Loser Game 60, (70) Winner Game 62 v Winner Game 59, (71) Loser Game 62 v Loser Game 59; 13h10 – (72) Winner Game 62 v Girls Winner Game 59 – Final
