The South Island Secondary School Canoe Polo Championships have hit the water in Oamaru once again.
For the eighth year in a row, the Waitaki Aquatic Centre is hosting the championships, despite an absence of Oamaru teams.
The centre’s customer liaison co-ordinator Marry-Ann Beets said it was great that the event kept coming back, even without local teams entered.
‘‘They chose to come here. [The pool] lends itself to that,’’ Ms Beets said.
Attracting 18 teams from Christchurch, Invercargill, Alexandra, Havelock, and Dunstan, the championships started yesterday and would run all weekend. New Zealand Canoe Polo Association South Island schools co-ordinator Peter Anderson said the tournament started 10 years ago in Christchurch, and one week later the 2011 earthquake destroyed its venue. After testing out a few towns, the tournament found its home in Oamaru, Mr Anderson said.
This tournament runs on an incredible amount of goodwill between all the schools who compete, the officials, the pool staff, and the local community, he said. The tournament was also a place for young players to better themselves, and many went on to play for national teams, he said.
Though the teams competed within their regions, the championships offered an opportunity for the top teams to play against higher competition and hone their skills.
‘‘This is a small sport in the South Island, but these kids love it,’’ Mr Anderson said. It was his seventh and final year running the event.
