Water Polo

Water polo is one of Rangitoto College’s most consistently highperforming sports. The students are extremely passionate and dedicated to the programme. They have an amazing support team of tight-knit parents, managers, and coaches who play a major part in the success of the sport at our school.

The Premier Boys team, coached by Iosefa Tuiasau, had a phenomenal season this year. The season started with the boys playing in the Auckland League. The team played week in, week out during Term 1 with the hopes of securing the gold. The boys deservedly won a spot in the final where they beat Sacred Heart in penalties. This was an unreal achievement for the team as it was the first time we had won the title in 13 years and gave the team high hopes for the North Islands and Nationals.

At the North Islands in Wellington, the boys topped the group stages and continued this success throughout the knockout stages. The team beat Westlake Boys in the semi-final which set them up with a final against Hamilton Boys. Our Rangitoto team fought hard throughout the game, managing a draw. This sent the game to penalties which we lost and therefore placed second in North Islands.

The Nationals this year was held in Auckland. Once again our boys started strongly to finish top of the pool and progressed phenomenally throughout the knockout stages. We played Sacred Heart in the semi-final where the team produced a performance of the season to gain a spot in the final versus Hamilton Boys again. The team came away with the silver medal again topping off a terrific season. First in Auckland, second in North Islands and second at Nationals for our Premier Boys Water Polo.

The team would like to farewell the Year 13 students Lucas Dearlove, Daniel Warman and Taze Noom-Duckworth for their contribution to Rangitoto water polo over the last five years.

The Premier Girls team, coached by Caity Lopes, performed amazingly well this year. The team had a number of new players this year with the additions of Darcy Spark, Pipi Quinlan and Keira Conboy. The girls started off the year incredibly well as they were battling with Diocesan for the top spot of the Auckland League. Unfortunately they lost a nail biting final in the Auckland league and finished second.

The North Island Tournaments and National tournaments were exceptional for our Premier Girls as they continuously fought to improve their performances and better their chance for the gold medal. The team had top performances across all of the games and managed to make the final in both the North Island and the Nationals. They came up against Diocesan in the final of both tournaments where the team managed to win silver. The team got second in Auckland, second in North Island and second at Nationals.

No members of the team this year were Year 13 so it’s likely next year will be a similar team as the girls plan to come back with vengeance to claim the national title.

This year we also had a Girls Senior B team. The team was coached by our ex-premier water polo students Rachel Dean and Chevaunne Roffe. The girls had an incredible season in which they were continuously improving. The team ended up third in the North West Senior B girls competition which was an outstanding effort as they beat Takapuna Grammar in the third/fourth playoff.

The Junior Water Polo season took place in Term 4 of 2020. Our three junior teams trained throughout Terms 2, 3, and 4 to ensure the continuous development of all players. There was a few breaks of training and competition time due to Covid-19 lockdowns. In the Auckland League games, the Rangitoto Junior A Boys had a positive season with a lot of Year 9s in the team. The boys ended up sixth in the Auckland League. The Junior A Girls performed exceptionally as they finished third in the Auckland League. Our junior mixed team managed to place sixth in the Auckland Junior Boys C grade which was great as it allowed newer students to give water polo a go. The 2020 year was finished off for the junior teams at the North Island Championship where the A Boys and Girls performed very well as the Junior Boys finished fifth and the Junior Girls placed fifth also.

This year the junior water polo teams consisted of a Junior A Boys team coached by Jake Lockwood, Junior A Girls team coached by Chelsea Geary, and also a Junior Mixed team coached by Ella Roberts and Kama Morton.