I spent Sunday at the St Stithians Water Polo Invitational
Water Tournament, which is called the Saints Stayers tournament these days, because
it doesn’t involve the departing matrics at the various schools and provides a
first outing for the teams that are staying behind after they leave.
It’s proved to be a popular concept, having grown from a two-day
affair involving mainly the local schools in the beginning, to one involving
all the top teams in the country with, I was told, a sizable waiting list of schools
clamouring to get in.
There is another national tournament on at the same time –
the Inspire Cup – which is played at different venues for the boys and girls
teams because there isn’t another school in Joburg that can accommodate 40
teams like Saints with its three pools can do.
The upshot was that for the weekend, the independent schools’
half-term break which makes it a good time of the year, Joburg is very much the
epicentre of schools water polo in the country. Much as the city is the heart
of schools rugby over Easter – and St Stithians was the instigator of that too.
I spoke to Bruno Fernandes who was the organiser of the
event for the 15th year in a row on Sunday. This was the 35th
national tournament he has run. He’s a bean-counter by profession and that
precise thinking translates into an intricate programme design that goes beyond
the usual ‘round-robin with cross pool playoffs’ formats and actually gives the
3rd placed finishers another chance to get into the top eight
playoff section. He has refined it over the years and it’s a work of art to
see.
On a long weekend like the one just past, despite the rain
and lightning interruption, it all finished on time and the girls and boys all played
seven full, four-chukka matches at the end of it. That’s not something you get
at any of the other big tournaments.
When I was told on Sunday that, from next year, there will
be a promotion-relegation system in place, with the two boys and two girls team
finishing last at the Saints tournament dropping down to the Inspire Cup and
the top two teams from there coming up, my first reaction was disapproval.
I’ve always believed that making winning the main aim does
not belong in school sport. I’m concerned that the dynamics will change for the
teams striving for promotion, and for those fighting relegation. I agree that
these concepts are part of life and children shouldn’t be shielded from them,
but my experience is that when wining becomes the all-important thing all
manner of evils follow.
School sport isn’t about winning and losing, so the strength
of a team shouldn’t be relevant when it comes to invitations to tournaments. Our
school sport has always been organised on traditional lines, and long-term
traditional relationships shouldn’t be ditched because a team is going through
a lean patch.
On the other hand, I agree that lopsided scorelines don’t do
anyone any good and it is true that the players at schools that haven’t been
included at tournaments like the Saints Stayers, historically, and who have
worked hard to reach a level which deserves recognition at a prestige event like
this, also have a case.
I guess it’s going to depend on how promotion-relegation is
managed. There have been some pretty ugly incidents in other codes and competitions
where it exists.
I hope it works out. Everything else about the tournament is
fantastic, it shouldn’t be spoiled by upping the stakes and making winning too
important.
