Buffalo City‘s U19 water polo girls’ team is primed to give their best when they arrive in Cape Town for the Schools Water Polo South Africa (SWPSA) Inter-Provincial Tournament (IPT) from 5 to 9 December.
Coach David Carter said his team will play with passion, pride, and determination, and he wants to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish.
In 2025, in the playoff for fifth, Buffalo City suffered a narrow 14-15 defeat to Western Province B.
“Our goal for IPT is to give our absolute best, work together as a team, support one another, and show everyone what we are made of,” Carter told SuperSport Schools News.
“We want to compete with confidence, leave everything in the pool, and make ourselves proud.”
Carter said he respects team manager Hanna Davidson‘s knowledge and experience in the sport and believes that their combined efforts will help the team perform at an optimal level.
The Buffalo City side is brimming with experience. The team, which will be captained by Kara Batting, with Quinn Carr serving as her deputy, has seven players who featured in last year’s tournament.
Besides the two leaders, Batting and Carr, Jenna Botha, Megan Phillips, Lizzy Cairns, Holley Jacobey, and Janey Wood participated in the tournament at St Stithians in Johannesburg.
Four schools – Clarendon School for Girls, Hudson Park High, Stirling High, and Merrifield College – provide the players.
Clarendon, the winner of the prestigious Saints Invitational Water Polo Tournament at the end of October, supplies the core of the squad, including five of the seven players returning to the IPT, namely Carr, Botha, Phillips, Cairns, and Jacobey.
Batting, Kayden Glasgow, and Amy Fortuin are from Hudson Park, while Nicola Schwartz, Giselle Hurley, Jorja Linke, and Kate Pretorius will fly Stirling’s flag. Janey Wood is the lone Merrifield College representative.
Team
Quinn Carr (Clarendon), Jenna Botha (Clarendon), Megan Phillips (Clarendon), Lizzy Cairns (Clarendon), Holley Jacobey (Clarendon), Kara Batting (Hudson Park), Kayden Glasgow (Hudson Park), Amy Fortuin (Hudson Park), Nicola Schwartz (Stirling High), Giselle Hurley (Stirling High), Jorja Linke (Stirling High), Kate Pretorius (Stirling High), Janey Wood (Merrifield College).
