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Water Polo Girls A
 
Photo by Burnside High School

Water Polo

Pip Collins —

The 2017 summer season concluded with the Burnside High School Senior Girls continuing their dominance in the pool by winning the South Island Secondary Schools' Water Polo tournament. 

They were challenged with some tough games, as the competition is always keenly contested by some very strong teams.

The Senior Boys team developed throughout the season under the guidance of their very enthusiastic coach. South Islands was a great experience with some pleasing leadership shown by the senior players and tight games.

Darius Porter from the Junior A Boys Water Polo team has been named in the NZ U16  team, and was also named in the Junior South Island team.  An awesome accomplishment for a Year 9. 

There have been some great performances throughout the competitions and it is great to see so many parents pool-side supporting the players, ensuring Water Polo at Burnside High School will continue to grow and thrive. We are very lucky to also have some enthusiastic Year 13 coaches and assistant coaches. One of these is Thomas Marshall. He has given many years of service as a coach or assistant for the junior teams. He says that the boys each year surprise him and always give more than 100% effort. He has loved the opportunity to test his coaching skills in the sport he is most passionate about.

Congratulations to the various players who have gained exceptional accolades and have been awarded medals at the competitions throughout the year, including Sophie Williamson who was named the Girls MVP and Ella Bampton, Ella Dowling and Flynn Marshall who were named in the tournament teams at the South Island Secondary Schools' tournament. Ella Dowling was also selected as a finalist at the Zonta Canterbury Secondary Schools Sports awards for Contribution as a Referee and Coach throughout Canterbury. Well done to everyone on your successes.

Water Polo results from the South Island Junior Championships held over a long weekend in November were, the Boys team placed 6th and the Girls' team placed 7th.

It was a positive weekend for development, with both teams heavily Year 9- weighted. The Year 10's showed great leadership and Polo skills, especially Darius Porter, Thomas Bainbridge, Ella Te Aho and Baileigh OSullivan. 

Water Polo at Burnside High is looking exciting for the future!

Thank you to all those who have supported Burnside High School Water Polo, for all the work you do behind the scenes to ensure our students can focus on playing at their best.