South Island Water Polo festival

Teams from Nelson to Invercargill converged on Moana Pool in the weekend to take part in the South Island Yr 7 and 8 Waterpolo festival. Balmacewen entered two teams - one in the Championship grade and one in the Open grade. This opportunity has given our teams the chance to play teams from all around the South Island and challenge themselves at this level.

Our Balmac Vortex team was in the Championship grade and had a number of wins in pool play. They then faced Medbury from Christchurch in a very intense full on game where the strength and speed of the all boys team took the win. The vortex team then had to face the top team from the other pool, Cobham A in the semi-final. Cobham have won the tournament on numerous occasions over the last few years.

I would like to acknowledge the effort, tenacity and skill of our team who played so well taking on these two top Canterbury teams. They were a credit to themselves and the school. They went on to play in the 3rd and 4th play off against a Canterbury Combined team of rep players from different schools. This was an intense game which Balmac Vortex won 8-5 to finish 3rd in the Championship Grade.

Our second team Hydra were entered in the Open grade. Over the weekend they played some very tough competition from all over the South Island also. They fought hard in many close games before coming up against James Hargest in their last game which they won 7-5.

Like the Vortex team, the improvements, effort and teamwork they displayed over the weekend is a credit to them and they will go on to reap the benefits of taking part in this tournament in our weekly Friday games. One highlight was the half way goal scored by Rebecca just on the half time buzzer!

A huge thank you must go to our fantastic coaches - Nathan, Henry and Logan - all ex Balmac students whose passion for the game and giving back to our school has them committed to our school coaching. We thank them for their time and effort to support our students.

Waterpolo is a very fast, physical and tactical game - similar in some respects to basketball in the water! If students who have never played but have strong swimming ability would like to try it out or come watch a game then I encourage them to do so! Otago water polo also run sessions on a Sunday for game development.

Thank you also to the parents and supporters over the weekend that were there in and out of the pool to encourage and support our teams. I am very proud of all our students who took part!

Lisa Dixon