Trinity Anglican School's pool was bubbling with excitement on Tuesday as the school hosted the regions first inter-school water polo gala day in collaboration with Cairns Water Polo.
Two girls teams and three boys teams from TAS, St. Mary's and St. Augustine's battled it out for pool supremacy in tropical conditions in a day that did not disappoint. The teams were combined with year 9/10 students and although inexperienced, there was plenty of talent unearthed on the day.
St. Mary's won the girls grand final over TAS in a match that was poised to go into overtime after a constant tug of war throughout the four quarters. St. Mary's pulled ahead in the fourth quarter after tournament MVP, Ella, scored consecutive goals to give St. Mary's the silverware.
In the boys division, St. Augustine's were the team to beat throughout the rounds with an undefeated streak before lunch. St. Mary's and TAS tussled for a grand final berth after the lunch break in one of the closest games of the day. TAS prevailed with the home pool advantage and met with St. Augustine's in the grand final. A well drilled Saints outfit took the game by the horns early and secured the trophy for the top boys side in Cairns.
The day truly a special day for water polo in Far North Queensland with excellent feedback coming from the young athletes. Thaine from TAS said "Seeing the improvement in our teamwork and tactics over the games that eventually led to us winning two games. Even if I wasn’t the person scoring, the thrill and happiness everyone experienced was incredible. I think the most rewarding part of water polo was definitely watching my team improve over the course of the competition."
Kento from Saints highlight was "Being in the water and getting physical in defense."
We hope to see some of the day's talent develop further by jumping in the pool with the Reef Sharks this summer, George from Saints commented "I definitely want to play again because it was a great experience, lots of fun with my mates, a really cool sport that needs a degree of fitness."
2019 promises to be a bigger and better year for water polo in the Cairns school system and we are excited to promote the sport to more schools in the region.
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