18 May 2023
Clifton College has earned itself a deserved reputation of being one of South Africa’s best water polo-playing schools. The breadth of that excellence will be on show at the World Aquatics Men’s u20 Water Polo Championships, which take place in Romania’s capital, Bucharest, and the neighbouring city of Otopeni from 10-17 June.
Four people with Clifton connections are involved with the Championships: Business Studies’ teacher Meryke Terblanche will serve as the South African team manager; Warren Beuster, who coaches the Clifton under-14 water polo team, has been appointed as a referee for the event; Chad Uys, who matriculated in 2021, is a member of the team; and Josh Saayman, who only last year was in grade 12, is a non-travelling reserve.
Teams
The event features 20 junior national teams, with South Africa flying the flag for the African continent. The SA team has been drawn in Group C with Canada and Japan.
Europe has the heaviest representation, with Serbia, Hungary, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Romania, Italy, and Montenegro in the line-up.
The European nations dominated the previous edition of the competition in 2021, when it was known as the Fina Water Polo World Men’s Junior Championships, with Serbia defeating Italy 10-8 to win the gold medal for a third time. Montenegro snatched the bronze, sneaking past Hungary 12-11 after a penalty shoot out.
Japan, Kazakhstan, Iran and China represent Asia, while the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and Peru fill the places for the Americas. Australia and New Zealand represent Oceania.
Serbia are the defending champions, having beaten Italy in the 2021 final. Montenegro finished in the bronze medal position.
Leave a Reply