Last Thursday our Junior Water Polo team headed to Jellie Park for their first game in the South Island Secondary Schools Junior Water Polo tournament.

The team had been training hard since the start of the term in the CBHS pool, twice a week and were ready to go!

First up was a tough game against Rangi Ruru (the eventual winners of the tournament), which the team lost, but played strongly in. After this game they had wins against Otago Girls’ High School, St Andrew's College/Marlborough Girls' High School combined, Villa Maria Junior B and Burnside High School, to finish second in their pool.

On to the crossovers, and another win against Villa Maria's Junior A team. Our team then had a challenging semi-final, where they ‘gave it their all’ but ended up losing, against St Margaret’s College. The play off for 3rd/4th spot against Otago Girls’ High School was a great game but the team lost 9–6, earning a very creditable 4th place in the South Island.

Over the tournament the team played with spirit and, in every game, played until the final whistle. Well done to all team members. Thank you to the parents who supported the team during the four-day tournament. A huge thank you to Emma Bone (assisted by Jorja Bird and Dave Bone) for taking on the head coach role, displaying lots of enthusiasm and great coaching advice. A great tournament for all!