TOKI

Mountfort Toki played some great Waterpolo at the recent Olympic Hopefuls tournament eventually placing 5th overall against some tough competition. Coaches Anthony & Jason were proud of the way the kids fought back after a few narrow losses in the pool round games and stepped up their game to get some vital wins. Highlights of the tournament were definitely our 2 x games against SeaWolf who we eventually drew with to place 5th equal.

It’s been a big year for this team, with many now going on to play U14 in Term 4. We wish you all the success with your future waterpolo! Of course it couldn’t be done without a big support crew, so a big thanks to all the parents for their support of the kids, taking them to trainings & tournaments and getting behind the team poolside!

Special mention must go to our two fantastic coaches for all their tireless efforts supporting & encouraging the team throughout the year. Thank you Anthony & Jason.

- Karolina (Manager)

MATAU

“You just played PROPER WATERPOLO!" High praise indeed for this dedicated group of waterpolo players from their coach after the game against Atlantis White. And well deserved. How hard they had to work this weekend. Two wins and two losses left us third in our pool leading into the final day's play. Another excellent win on Sunday morning led to our final game playing off for 9th and 10th against Otago but they were too strong and beat us 5-2. Some amazing individual performances...who could forget Darby's hat trick against Marist Marlins? But the highlight was the progress of the group as a team over the weekend...trusting each other, encouraging each other, listening carefully to Coach and giving it 100 percent. When they really got stuck in as a team it was magic to watch. I would also like to acknowledge the respectful attitude demonstrated by the team...helping to carry the drink bottles, throwing the practice balls back very gently and carefully, being on time and giving enthusiastic cheers for the opposition no matter the outcome of the game to give a few examples. I have come to expect this high standard of behaviour from team Matau and this weekend did not disappoint. We were fortunate to have as our coach Joel ably assisted by Caspar. Your commitment to the team and their development is impressive and we thank you.Thank you also to the Matau parents and supporters who were there for the team in every way. Your positive energy was very much appreciated.- Diana (Manager)

KURU

“What a Fantastic effort Team”! It was a tough tournament but we managed to achieve so much. Our pool was very tough with two teams Hutt and North Harbour who went on to finish first and fifth in the Tournament. Our best game I believe was against a strong Hutt team where even though we lost 7-0, our score was the best against them, of any team in the tournament. I lost count of how many times Callum saved the ball in goal. Hutt actually beat Atlantis Navy 11-0 in the Final which shows how well we defended. Overall we had 3 wins and 3 losses to finish 13th out of 20 teams which was awesome against some tough opponents. Our last playoff game for 13th and 14th was amazing with our team swimming up and down the pool on defence and then on attack multiple times. Exhaustion was setting in on myself and Team Manager Tracey along with the large crowd that had gathered. Finally Lara passed the ball up to Judd who slotted the ball in the back of the Net to give us the win 2-1!Thanks to our Parents and Supporters.MVP Judd Brown.- Tracey (Manager)

POUNAMU

ll in all we had a great tournament. Everyone played hard, working on the skills we have been developing in our practice sessions over the year. We made each game a learning experience, building on those thing we did well each game. The team performance got better with each game and by the end of the tournament we had improved out of sight. Our last two games saw great stealing and intercepting the ball, working as a team, swimming up the pool and scoring some great goals. Finishing our last two games with wins a great experience. Emiel lost his voice by half way through the tournament and was barely able to squeak during out last two very exciting games. Thank you to Mia Sharman and John Montgomerie for giving up your time to manage our team and Emiel Logan for coaching.