St John’s Preparatory School U12 second water polo team made the school proud with their stellar performance at the Oakhill Waterfront Chukka Festival in Eastern Cape.
The team took the long trip down to the Knysna Waterfront, by invitation, to compete over two days against some of the top coastal schools in the region for the first time.
Spokesperson for the school Jacqui Deeks said, “It was a first and unique tournament for the preparatory water polo players, as the games took place in the open water within the harbour of the Knysna Waterfront.”
Their first day began with a 1–5 loss to Cape Town team, Sun Valley High School, but St John’s soon grew in confidence, drawing
4–4 draw with Pearson College and narrowly losing 3–4 to Stirling Primary School from East London. On the second day, St John’s impressively beat St George’s Preparatory School 5–2 and achieved a 6–2 win over Fish Hoek Primary School.
St John’s coach Nicholas Rodda commented that the experience was enjoyable and beneficial for the boys. “The team did very well considering the fact that it was a young side playing against numerous first teams,” he added.
Deeks concluded, “The boys gained huge experience, not only playing in open water and having a kayak for the team bench, but also gaining game experience at a coastal level.”
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