Three Border water polo players are set to make waves on the international stage in two weeks when they leave to represent SA at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore.
Chloe Meecham, Hannah Weppelman and Tumi Macdonell are part of the side that will represent the country from July 11 to August 3.
It will be a tough campaign for team SA in pool D against Spain and France, with Spain fresh from their Olympic gold win in Paris.
The SA women’s team finished 14th at World Champs last year, just two positions shy of last place. Coach Dean Whyte, who is also director of aquatics at St David’s Marist Inanda in Johannesburg, believes this year’s side has the capacity to better that — especially with the experience and work rate that the three Border stalwarts are bringing to the team.
Whyte said Meecham brings an unmatched level of experience and positivity to the side. He said Weppelman is a solid presence in the centre forward position with a tireless work rate and Macdonnell is the engine behind the team’s speed.
Whyte believes the trio’s emergence into the national side is a testament to their dedication given that player’s from provinces with more robust water polo structures, unlike in Border, have an easier time racking up the game play mileage needed to develop into strong national competitors.
Whyte said: “Our team is full of national level quality players and our strategy this year is to bring out the fight in our opponents. Where we can win, we are aiming for a win but our main goal is to get convincingly competitive margins in our games.
“Our side is young and our objective is use the World Champs this year as the foundation for further international campaigns. SA is one of the few amateur sides in the competition because we don’t have access to frequent international playing opportunities that the other teams have.
“Our facilities are limited and we don’t have huge reserves of corporate support for the sport.
“We are in a building phase but we have ladies who are keen to work hard, including Chloe, Hannah and Tumi, and prove themselves with each international competition they are in.”
Meecham is steadily inching towards a decorated career with her appearance in Singapore marking five campaigns for SA on the World Aquatic and Olympics stage. She said: “It is an honour to represent SA because no matter how many tournaments I attend; it still feels like the first time. My goal for Singapore and for the rest of my career is to play the best I can.”
Weppelman, a celebrated coach from Nelson Mandela Bay and Kingswood Junior School has been hard at work pushing through injury and illness to stay match fit and game aware.
She said: “I want us to use the World Champs as a stepping stone to keep building and improving together. I really hope we can support each other and play as one unit rather than as individuals.
Macdonell has been in the senior ranks of the national circuit since she was in high school and with a robust background in international playing she brings a wealth of experience to the set up.
She said: “My goals are just to try and learn something new at Worlds this year and for us to grow as a team. This is an incredible opportunity and I want us to make the most of it as we all work towards making the Olympics in 2028.”
The SA women’s and men’s sides will have much ground to cover to salvage the country’s reputation after the U20’s placed 19th at U20 World Aquatics in Croatia this past weekend.
The newly minted association, SA Water Polo (SAWP) believes poor performances in water polo on the international stage is a result of 20 years of maladministration in the sport by national aquatic federation, Swimming SA (SSA).
Following legal spats between the two, the Cape Town High Court ruled on June 18 that SAWP has the right apply for recognition at World Aquatics to manage water polo in SA contrary to what SSA had hoped for. SAWP members have told GO!&Express they are in the process of launching their applications and believe this is the best way forward for the sport.
Disagreeing, SSA’s Alan Fritz said: “Water polo has over the last 30 years been performing below our potential. The eco system of water polo in terms of the development continuum is fragmented and SSA has plans to address this fragmentation.
“Since readmission into world sport, 32 years ago, the base of aquatic sport, including water polo, has always been too narrow for a country with such talent. This change is an objective of SSA for many years and the need to focus on facilities has become our number one objective.”
