Author: tgarrun

The 23^rd annual Standard Bank Schools Boat Race takes place on Friday and Saturday, 8 and 9 December, on the Kowie River at Port Alfred.

The race is for 1^st Eight (boys) and 1^st Quad (girls) crews and it is unique in a number of ways. It’s the longest race on the calendar. The boys’ course is 5.4km long, while the girls’ race is over 4km.

It takes place on a river, with bends, bridges and sand banks, and it’s close enough to the sea for the tidal conditions to play a major role.

Follow the Standard Bank Schools Boat Race live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

It’s a “head race“, which means that, instead of the crews lining up six- or eight-deep and racing against each other, they go off in pairs on the final day. Before that, in the preliminary rounds, they race on their own in individual time trials, 20 seconds apart, to determine which final they will row in on the last day.

The Friday starting order is based on the final placings from the 2022 race, and the pairings for day two are based on their times – the two fastest boats go through to the A final, the next two to the B final, and so on, all the way down to the two slowest crews facing off for the last two places in the early final on Saturday.

There are no river courses that are perfectly straight for those sorts of distances, so the races typically have to navigate multiple bends, making the role of the coxswains who steer the boats, crucial. That makes for exciting racing as choosing the best line and executing the tactics correctly can be the difference between winning and losing.

The best-known river race is, of course, the University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge, over 6.8km on the Thames in London. It’s been going since 1926 and this year 270 000 spectators watched the race live, and over 15 million saw it on TV. The SA Schools Boat Race consciously follows many of the processes and traditions of that event.

As far as tactics are concerned, the crews all arrive in Port Alfred on Monday or Tuesday and they spend the next three or four days getting used to the conditions, with one eye on the Tidal App, training at a time that will match the tide when they go off on Friday.

And in the time trial, according to Lebo Mashiga, coach of the Jeppe crew, everyone goes flat out all the way. “It’s the most important race,” he says. “You can’t win a medal if you don’t make the A or B final. On the second day it’s more tactical as you are going head-to-head with your direct opponent, and the time doesn’t matter.”

There are 20 boys’ and 14 girls’ crews in this year’s race and the defending champions are St Benedict’s College and St Mary’s Waverley, respectively.

St Mary’s have won the girls race for the last eight years in a row and 15 times in its 21-year history. St Andrew’s of Bedfordview have been their closest rivals for most of those years, but Holy Rosary Convent of Edenvale have emerged as a major force in recent times.

Holy Rosary came second in last year’s Boat Race, and they beat St Mary’s in the 1^st Quad at the Schools Championships in March, although that was over a shorter, 2km distance, on a straight course. St Mary’s avenged that defeat at the Gauteng Championships in October.

St Benedict’s have won the boys event seven times, including the 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 races – there was no race in 2020 because of Covid-19. St Stithians College came second on the Kowie in 2022, and they went on to beat St Benedict’s at SA Schools in March. Bennies beat them at the Gauteng Champs in October, however.

Both defending champions have shown, over many years, that they are masters of the river conditions and of the head race format. It’s going to take a massive effort to dethrone them this year.

The Clifton Aquatic Centre hosts the KZN Top 10 Water Polo tournament from Friday, with the hosts the favourites to annex the title in their own pool.

The outcome, though, is far from a foregone conclusion with many of the country’s top teams in action.

During the holidays, Hilton College, Kearsney College and Westville Boys’ High showed they could compete with the best during the Clifton Water Polo Tournament.

Clifton finished third, defeating Hilton 9-5 in the playoff for third and fourth, and then repeated their victory over Hilton to place third at the Hussar Grill SACS Water Polo Tournament, this time by a 4-2 margin.

SACS won their home tournament, suffering only one defeat, but that loss was to Clifton, who won 4-2 in pool play. In the semi-finals, Clifton had SACS in big trouble, leading 3-1 in their showdown, but a slow start to the second half cost the Durban school the game, eventually going down 4-5.

They are a formidable side, however, and played some exceptionally good water polo during the two events. They’re a team without weaknesses and will be difficult to stop, especially at home.

In Cape Town, Bishops finished second in their pool behind the champions, SACS, after posting seven wins and a draw in nine games in Pool B, but Hilton outplayed them 3-1 to reach the semi-finals. That’s an indication of the potential of the school from the Midlands.

Westville, meanwhile, were super-competitive, but exceptionally unlucky at the Clifton Water Polo Tournament.

They went down 9-10 to SACS, ranked number one in the country, and also lost by a single goal, 6-7, to Saint John’s College, the defending champions, and the winners of eight out of nine of their pool games in Cape Town. Against Paul Roos, the runners-up in both tournaments, Westville lost 7-8.

A break here or there and Westville would have been playing for much higher honours than seventh.

Kearsney, with a young team, finished sixth in the Clifton tournament. They, too, fell by only a single goal to Paul Roos, 7-8, and in Cape Town their results included a 5-6 loss to SACS. They’re going to be a tough out for any opponent.

Northwood, who were the fourth school from KZN in action at the SACS tournament, were somewhat inconsistent, but certainly belonged in the elite company. The question they’ll have to answer is whether or not they can raise their game the rung or two needed against the other top teams.

Michaelhouse were very underdone at the Clifton Water Polo Tournament, so one should expect significant improvement from the Balgowan boys this time around, while Glenwood, despite taking home the wooden spoon, had Jesse Venter named the Best Goalkeeper of the Clifton tournament. A top net-minder can have a massive impact on results, so Glenwood cannot be taken for granted.

DHS, in the Clifton tournament, were a little like Northwood were in the SACS Tournament. They produced some good water polo without setting the world alight. One doesn’t see them winning the Top 10, but they could definitely cause an upset or two along the way.

Maritzburg College, too, produced some good passages of play at the Clifton tournament, but they’re also a step or two off the pace at present.

The Invitation team brings an unknown into the tournament. The biggest challenge they will have is being able to gel against sides that have built up considerable experience together.

The Pools:

Pool A: Clifton, Northwood, Kearsney College, Michaelhouse, Invitation.

Pool B: Glenwood, Hilton College, Durban High School, Maritzburg College, Westville Boys’ High.

The Fixtures:

Friday, 13 October 2023

14:00 – Westville Boys’ High vs DHS B; 14:45 – Kearsney College vs Invitation A; 15:30 – Clifton vs Northwood A; 16:15 – Westville Boys’ High vs Maritzburg College B; 17:00 – Northwood vs Invitation A; 17:45 – Hilton College vs Glenwood B.

Saturday, 14 October 2023

08:00 – Northwood vs Michaelhouse A; 08:45 – Clifton vs Invitation A; 09:30 – Maritzburg College vs Glenwood B; 10:15 – Hilton College vs DHS B; 11:00 – Clifton vs Kearsney College A; 11:45 – Invitation vs Michaelhouse A; 12:30 – Westville Boys’ High vs Glenwood B; 13:15 – Hilton College vs Maritzburg College B; 14:00 – Kearsney College vs Northwood A; 14:45 – Clifton vs Michaelhouse A; 15:30 – Westville Boys’ High vs Hilton College B; 16:15 – Maritzburg College vs DHS B; 17:00 – Kearsney College vs Michaelhouse A; 17:45 – DHS vs Glenwood B.

Sunday, 15 October 2023

08:00 – 2B vs 3A; 08:50 – 2A vs 3B; 09:40 – 4A vs 5B; 10:30 – 4B vs 5A; 11:20 – 1A vs Winner 21 semi; 12:10 – 1B vs Winner 22 semi; 13:00 – Loser 23 vs Loser 24 9th/10th; 13:45 – Winner 23 vs Winner 24 7th/8th; 14:30 – Loser 21 vs Loser 22 5th/6th; 15:15 – Loser 25 vs Loser 26 3rd/4th; 16:00 – Winner 25 vs Winner 26 1st/2nd.