Rand Park water polo star returns from New Zealand tournament
RANDPARK – The Pan Pacific Youth Water Polo Tournament saw youngsters from schools across the globe compete in New Zealand.
Rand Park High School youngster Shakira January was selected to represent South African schools in two tournaments in Auckland, New Zealand as part of the Pan Pacific Youth Water Polo Tournament on 7 July.
Participating teams at the tournament were mainly from New Zealand, America and South Africa, with the South African schools’ team participating in the U16 and the U18 Water Polo tournaments while on tour.
Commenting on how it felt to compete overseas, Shakira said, “It was amazing and a real privilege to participate in these tournaments as a South African ambassador.
I was the only player from a public school who was selected to represent our country, and the rest of the players were from private schools from around the country.
“Some of the teams were very strong whereas others were comparable with our team’s abilities which resulted in some wins and some losses.”
The South African team trained in various weekend training camps to improve skills and keep fit.
Shakira added, “We then met the entire South African team and trained every day for four hours per day for one week before leaving for New Zealand.”
Training took place at the Wahoo Aquatic Centre in Sandton and this is where the team got to know their coaches and fellow team-mates.
According to Shakira, “I was introduced to water polo when I joined Rand Park High School in Grade 8 so I have been playing for two and a half years.
I like the level of aggression needed to excel in Water Polo. You need to be tough-minded and very committed to the sport. It’s a combination of swimming, basketball, rugby and football which is quite physically and mentally demanding.
“My Rand Park High coach is Claire White and she also represented South Africa in water polo so she knows exactly what is required to succeed at that level… As my first team coach, she has been inspirational.”
As an all-around sportsperson, Shakira is part of the school’s A swimming team, A athletics team, first team netball and first team water polo.
“Representing my school makes me very proud. Our team is like a family. We are good at working together, understand each other and have very strong bonds of friendship.”
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