U16 Water Polo Tournament

The DHS U16 Water Polo Tournament started in 2012, with a handful of teams. From there it has grown into a tournament with teams from Gauteng, Eastern and Kwa-Zulu Natal.  The schools represented at the Tournament this year all have a rich heritage of competitive sport and Water Polo in particular.  It was an honour and a privilege for DHS to host these schools.
Sixteen teams from amongst the top Water Polo playing schools gathered to do battle at the Tournament from 6 to 8 October.  Head of Aquatics, Mr Steve la Marque, and his team which included the Moms’ Committee, had done an excellent job in laying the groundwork for the Tournament. Six teams were housed in Blackmore House and all reports suggested that they had been made comfortable and to feel at home by the duty masters and were very well fed by Peppers & Pans.
The officials’ table and the scoreboard were well-manned by keen 1^st and U14 Water Polo boys, whilst Mr Skevington kept the whole thing rolling with his lively patter over the public address system.
Generally, the Polo itself was of a high standard.  The final between Clifton College and St John’s College was an exciting game of very high quality.  The teams scored one for one, going through to the 4^th Chukka 5-5. By the end of the final Chukka the score was still a draw at 7-7, which resulted in a penalty shoot-out.  Clifton were the ultimate winners, beating defending champions St John’s 10-9.
Another successful and enjoyable tournament.  Thank you to the teams that participated … we look forward to hosting you again next year.
Final Positions:
1^st    Clifton College
2^nd    St John’s College
3^rd    Hilton College
4^th    Selborne College
5^th    St Andrew’s College
6^th    Westville Boys’ High School
7^th    Kearsney College / St Benedict’s College
9^th    St David’s Marist, Inanda
10^th  Northwood School
11^th  St Stithians College
12^th  Affies (Afrikaans Hoër Seunsskool)
13^th  Glenwood High School
14^th  St Alban’s College
15^th  King Edward VII School
16^th Durban High School
Tournament Team:
Jarred Buere (St John’s)
Teagure Loelly (Westville)
David MacDonald (Westville)
Luke Sawkins (St John’s)
Nicholas Poole / Ricardo Simoes (St David’s)
Dean Stokes (Selborne)
Luke Tillim (Hilton)
Dane Tucker (St Stithians)
Jaden Whiley (Clifton)
Tournament Awards:
Best Forward:                Mikey Bennett (Clifton)
Best Back:                       Oliver de Sousa (St John’s)
Best Goalkeeper:           Chris Geils (Clifton)
Most Valuable Player:  Tim Mundell (Hilton)
S La Marque
Director of Aquatics