SA Women’s water polo team and their schools ahead of Doha 2024
The South African Women’s Water Polo team is gearing up for the World Aquatics Championships, which take place in Qatar from 2 to 18 February.
The two-week event will test South Africa’s best against top international players, with the bulk of the teams aiming to use the spectacle as preparation for this year’s Summer Olympics, which will be hosted in Paris, France, from 26 July to 11 August.
The South African ladies will be coached by former SA player, Nicola Barrett. She is no stranger to the international scene, having played in various FINA tournaments, dating back to 2009 when the Women’s Junior Water Polo championships were hosted in Russia.
Since hanging up her headgear in 2019, Barrett has taken the coaching world by storm. Early in her career, she was entrusted with both the u15 and u16A SA Schools teams. She then had a stint at Rustenburg Girls’ High School, followed by Reddam House Constantia, and she has started this year as the Head of Water Polo at St Cyprian’s School in Cape Town.
This past December, Barrett led the Western Province u18 girls’ team to the final of the Inter-provincial Tournament in Gqeberha, where they were beaten 12-10 by Central Gauteng A.
The team chosen for the showpiece in Doha is a mixture of experience and youth and includes 11 players who were involved in last year’s campaign in Japan.
Notable absentees are Olufunke Ganda and Clarendon girls’ first-team coach, Hannah Muller. The new additions are the former St Mary’s Waverley trio of Daniela Passoni, Amica Hallendorff, and Amber Penny.
The most experienced player in the squad is Megan Sileno, formerly of Reddam House Constantia, who currently holds the coaching reins at Hilton’s St. Anne’s Diocesan College.
The 34-year-old veteran also represented South Africa at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In 2023, she led the side to a 12th place finish at the World Aquatics Champs, which was one place better than in 2022 when they finished in 13th spot in Budapest. In Fukuoka last year, they defeated Argentina 12-9 to finish third in their group behind Greece and Italy respectively.
Sileno is a versatile player with nearly 20 years of experience in the game. She can play centre-back and centre-forward and will captain the side as it aims for a Top 10 finish in Qatar.
Two Eastern Cape schools are also represented in the team. Tumani Macdonald, and Chloe Meecham both matriculated from Stirling High School in East London, while Pearson High School‘s Yanah Gerber, who matriculated from the school in 2019, is also among those set to fly the South African flag abroad.
In 2020, after leaving Pearson, she joined Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and has become a key player in their team.
The South African squad also includes the University of Pretoria duo of Esihle Zondo and Shakira January, who attended Durban Girls’ College and St Stithians College respectively. They are also among the youngest players in the team, with Zondo turning 20, and January turning 21, this year.
January takes the experience of competing in Fukuoka last year into this year’s campaign. She also served the side as the vice-captain at those World Aquatics Championships.
While most of the 15-player squad comes from traditional water polo powerhouses, some players, like Ruby Versfeld, who attended Westerford High School in Cape Town, have defied the odds.
Versfeld participated in the Women’s Youth Water Polo Championships in 2014 and 2015 and has also represented California State University.
Gauteng’s Roedean School is represented by Boati Motau, while Nicola MacLeod is the only player from St Peter’s College.
Annie Thornton-Dibb matriculated from St Anne’s Diocesan College, while Meghan Maartens attended Gqeberha’s Collegiate Girls, and Kelsey Thomson matriculated from Rand Park High School.
South Africa is in Group D alongside Italy and Canada. They will be joined by either Hungary, France, or Great Britain, who all recently competed and qualified in the Women’s European Water Polo Championship, which was hosted in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, earlier this month.
The team
Megan Sileno (Reddam House Constantia), Meghan Maartens (Collegiate Girls), Kelsey Thomson (Rand Park High School), Tumani Macdonald (Stirling High School), Chloe Meecham (Stirling High School), Esihle Zondo (Durban Girls’ College), Shakira January (St Stithians College), Boati Motau (Roedean School), Ruby Versfield (Westerford High School), Annie Thornton-Dibb (St Anne’s Diocesan College), Nicola MacLeod (St Peter’s College), Yanah Gerber (Pearson High School), Amber Penny (St Mary’s Waverley), Daniela Passoni (St Mary’s Waverley), Amica Hallendorff (St Mary’s Waverley).
