A group of 26 under 18 canoe polo players, consisting of 8 girls and 18 boys attended the Junior International Canoe Polo Championships in Belfast, Ireland from 27 to 30 July 2023. The squad is made up of players from all across South Africa – one player from Maritzburg College Canoe Club in KZN, two players from Dabulamanzi Canoe Club in JHB, nine players from ERK Canoe Club in Benoni, two players from Knysna Yacht Club and eleven players from Peninsula Canoe Club, Western Cape.
The championships was attended by 56 teams in total – the biggest turnout for this event to date. Countries such as Australia, Austria, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom were represented at the championships this year. The four teams from South Africa – Girls u18, Boys u18, Boys u18 Development and Boys u16 Development played 3 to 4 games per day during the four-day event. Although it is supposed to be summer in Ireland in July, the players had to endure rain and wind while competing against the other teams in the championships, so the playing conditions were not ideal. Despite this the South African players played their hearts out and did tremendously well!
The results were as follows:
– Girls u18 came 6th out of 8 teams in the u16 Silver League
– Boys u18 A came 3rd out of 6 teams in the u18 Silver League
– Boys u18 (Development) came 5th out of 6 teams in the u18 Silver League
– Boys u16 (Development) came1st out of 8 teams in the u16 Silver League
Congrats on this awesome achievement. We are so proud of you!
Be sure to check out the Belfast Kayak Academy’s Facebook page for great photo’s as well as drone footage of the championships.
Mia Verster (16) and Etienne Pieterse (16) are members of Dabulamanzi Canoe Club.
