KNYSNA NEWS - We have come to the end of February, and with it the end of a month of great water polo action as part of the 12th iteration of the Oakhill Waterfront Chukka festivals.
More than a thousand young water polo players took to the waters of the Knysna Waterfront this month, and as usual, the footprint of the series extended far beyond the confines of the water polo pool.
The Oakhill Waterfront Chukka festivals have been a mainstay of the Knysna events calendar. Since their inception in 2012, they have become an annual occurrence - except for 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic - and a regular feast for sports lovers on the Knysna Waterfront.
The numbers behind it all
The trio of festivals covers three different age groups - U13, U15 and U19. Each festival varies in size, with the U19 edition by far the biggest with almost double the number of participating teams.
It consists of 46 teams, 23 boys teams and 23 girls teams, representing 32 different schools from across the country. This comes down to roughly 500 players for the week, with a total of 180 games played.
To accommodate this, Oakhill constructs a third temporary water polo pool specifically for the U19 festival, while the other two festivals only make use of two pools.
Despite the fact that they have fewer participating teams, the U13 and U15 festivals are by no means anything to scoff at.
For the U13 festival there were 29 teams participating from 22 different schools. With around 400 players, over 70 games of water polo were played.
Goalkeepers also pulled off some great saves during the festivals.
At the U15 festival there were 24 teams, participating from 17 different schools. With around 300 players, over 100 games of water polo were played.
This comes to about 1 200 visiting players, over 200 staff and coaches and 350 matches played in the month of February.
Benefits to the town
It's estimated that roughly R2m goes to local BnBs and hotels through accommodation booked by the school for visiting teams and players.
This doesn't take into account the additional accommodation booked by visiting friends and family who travelled to Knysna to show their support.
Then there is of course the support of local businesses too, with restaurants, tour operators and many more benefitting from the influx of visitors to the town.
This year, for only the second time, live-scoring was available for all three festivals, and for the first time ever, SuperSport Schools broadcasted the festivals too, affording those who couldn't make the trip to Knysna the chance to still watch and support from afar.
More than just water polo
"Our hope is that finding joy and fun in playing sports will remain the first priority for our children and that schools, coaches and spectators will do everything they can to make this so," said James Cross, head of Oakhill Prep.
"We continue to celebrate the connections that we have established and the friendships that we have enjoyed through this game. We trust that those friendships will be further enriched and the new friendships will develop."
The spirit and camaraderie of the festivals were truly felt this year. In a sweet gesture during the U19 festival, three boys from Herzlia High School - Judd Jocum, Matt Whitesman and Ben Levin - came to the aid of Plett local Debbie Meyer who dropped her phone into the water while watching her niece play for the school in the harbour pool.
The three boys fished around at the bottom of the waterfront and after some time, managed to find the phone, still in working condition.
Meyer, who is not traditionally a water polo fan and was watching the sport for the first time, had no idea that her phone was waterproof and said the device was still working perfectly.
She expressed her gratitude for the boys' efforts and said she loved the experience of the festival.
However, the most heart-wrenching story outside of the pool this year came during the U15 festival. A bus carrying the girls team from Pearson High School was involved in an accident on their way to Knysna.
The bus was carrying two members of staff and 13 children, all of whom thankfully survived the accident. Some sustained more serious injuries than others, but they are all recovering well.
In a show of support for the Pearson girls, parents of Oakhill learners made a special banner to send their love and well-wishes that was displayed at the Knysna Waterfront for the duration of the U15 festival.
Oakhill learners and coaches sent love and best wishes to the Pearson High School girls team.
Unity through sport
"My experience and interaction with the water polo community over the past weekend at the U15 Oakhill Waterfront Chukka Festival reminded me of something that our revered former president, Nelson Mandela, once said: 'Sports have the power to change the world.
'It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope, where there was once only despair'," said Oakhill's head of college sport and organiser of the festivals, Luandi Liebenberg.
"The unity shown by schools and players alike inspired all to keep moving forward together this weekend and the message was loud and clear: sports provide hope when we most need it."
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