In a bold move to improve the quality of school water polo in Zimbabwe for all age groups, Zimbabwe Water Polo is sending nearly 150 students and coaches to Cape Town for the 2015 Schools’ Water Polo South Africa (SWPSA) National Water Polo Championships. The SA Championships, sponsored by Old Mutual Wealth and hosted by Western Province Schools Water Polo, will take place over five days, 10-14 December at eight venues scattered throughout the city of Cape Town.
Zimbabwe is sending teams for girls and boys in U13, U14, U15, U16 categories. Girls have one U19 team with boys playing both U19A and U19B categories. Dubbed as possibly the biggest national schools delegation ever to travel to a championship, Team Zimbabwe has been busy preparing with nearly weekly inter-schools tournaments and intensive practice sessions despite examination season.
After the five days of water polo in Cape Town, the final matches for gold and silver medals in each category will take place at the Newlands Aquatic Centre. The tournament will include over 1600 competitors from Provincial South African sides as well as the Zimbabwe delegations.
On the side of the South African National Championships, the SA Water Polo Association is hosting a special International Test Match which will feature select girls and boys U18 sides from Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The round robin Test Series will take place mostly in the evenings at Newlands Aquatic Centre. Zimbabwe’s chosen referee for the tournament is Rob Hammond.
Such high level and intensive tournament competition can only serve to strengthen Zimbabwe water polo at all levels coming into a new school year.