Braced for thrilling pool fare

Schools water polo action kicks into high gear next week when the 43rd annual Vides tournament gets under way in EL.

Most games will be played at Selborne College as the main hosts, while games will also be played at Hudson Park High. “We’re very excited for the tournament, I think we have got one of our best fields ever and we have got 20 teams this year which is four more than last year, so it is looking good,” said tournament organiser Mike Cousins.

The action will kick off next Friday until Sunday, with a full weekend of thrilling water polo action on the cards.

Everything is now in place and ready to go, with teams from across the country set to arrive in the city on Thursday.

“We have been working since October and we are excited, just one week to go,” said Cousins.

“We have spent some money upgrading the pool and the stands, so that is something new from the last edition.

“Fixtures are done, we have booked the pools, we have put a lot of money into getting good prizes and creating goodie bags for all the players, we are doing two functions to make sure the managers and coaches are happy, and we have invited the Vides family again, so it is all systems go.”

Teams from Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and the Eastern Cape will compete.

From the local side, Selborne will field two teams, their firsts and Collegians, while Stirling and Hudson Park will be the other two first team sides from East London taking part.

Defending champions St Andrews, who have won three of the previous five editions, will also be back and hungry to keep a hold of their title, while other top sides taking part include Grey High, Paul Roos and Reddam House.

A large contingent of national players are also expected to be in action for their various school teams, so the quality of the tournament is set to be very high.

“I think it’s going to be exciting because there are actually eight teams who can win it this year, so from the quarterfinals anything can happen and if you're on your game you can win it,” said Cousins.