Second chukka a winner

Gallery Update

KNYSNA SPORT NEWS - Knysna's love affair with school water-polo action continued last weekend when the second of three Oakhill Waterfront Chukka Festivals took place at the Knysna Waterfront.

The festival – the U19 edition – took the Waterfront by storm with four days of water polo action played by 30 teams from 21 schools hailing from all over the country, with some coming from as far as Pretoria (St Alban's College), while the remainder of the schools hailed from either the Western or Eastern Cape.

The action got under way on Thursday 13 February, with matches between York High School and Woodridge College's boys' teams, and Collegiate High Schools and HMS Bloemhof's girls' teams kicking off the tournament. The first day of matches firmly set the tone for the rest of the weekend, with most of the games nailbiting encounters that brought the best out of everybody.

Photo gallery: 2nd Oakhill Waterfront Chukka Festival

The second day saw matches played in the two pools at the Waterfront from as early as 07:00 to 18:40, while the third day started at 07:00 once again with matches going until 16:55, whereafter a coaches vs coaches match followed at 17:30. As there had been a week before, a prize-giving was held for the players and coaches on Saturday evening, with the final rounds of matches coming on Sunday.

The weekend's proceedings were capped off by matches between Woodridge and Oakhill's girls' teams, in front of huge crowds in the Phil Stewart Pool outside Drydock Restaurant. The third and final chukka festival will be the U15 edition to take place next weekend (27 February to 1 March), when 16 schools from around the country will be flocking to Knysna.

Luke Shrosbree looks to sling the ball forward.