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New Zealand Water Polo Tour

Over the past school holidays, the Senior School Water Polo players travelled to New Zealand to compete in the Under 16 Division One National Championships held in Wellington.

The team, consisting of a mix of players from Years 9-11, arrived to a very cool Wellington fully prepared to take on the helm of the club teams from around the nation. A good training session the day before the Championships set the team up well for their Pool Division games against Marist Blue and North Harbour 'A' on Day One.

In both games, the team had a taste of the competition in the Championship rounds with North Harbour 'A' the favourites to win. Though Scotch lost to both these teams, the boys managed to successfully implement the team's game strategy.

Day two saw the team put on a spectacular show piece against the local side from Maranui and claimed a 7-5 victory. This allowed the team to compete in the Plate Championship round to which Scotch were eligible to win. On the back of a strong victory, confidence grew within the squad and we went on to win 7-6 in a close game against the team from North Island, Waitakere Teal.

A morning break on Day three, allowed the team to bond in a game of tenpin bowling before annihilating Harbour City, 8-4. With back to back wins team morale was at an all time high and motivation to win the Plate was within reach on Day four.

The fourth day saw Scotch play a must win game against Maranui. The game was a very low scoring game and a last minute extra man goal saw a 5-5 draw. This meant Scotch and Maranui were equal on points and both teams had to win their next match to take out the Plate.

Scotch put on another magnificent game against QE11 winning 8-5. This resulted in a special mention at the closing presentations where Scotch had drawn the Plate Championship in points but on goal difference the team was unfortunate to have a weaker one than the team we drew with so Scotch ended up with 2nd in this Championship.

All up Scotch finished with four wins, one draw and two losses. This performance exceeded the coach's expectations and has set the squad up for a very competitive 2010 PSA season.

The tour had many sight-seeing and recreational opportunities fit in around the Championships. These activities included paint balling, go-karting, the famous Ta Papa museum visit, and a day road trip to explore some of the exquisite scenery on display around the North Island. Highlights include making local television, experiencing a mild earthquake tremor in the hotel and experiencing the culinary delights of Wellington.

All in the entire trip was a fantastic opportunity for the Scotch Water polo players to experience tournament conditions that will definitely add to development of the sport within the School.

Stay tuned for the next installment.

Lawrence Felgate
1st Team Coach/Manager