Goalkeeper Bae Fountain watches a shot sail wide of his post during the Water Polo on the Waterfront men's final. Photo / George Novak
Goalkeeper Bae Fountain watches a shot sail wide of his post during the Water Polo on the Waterfront men's final. Photo / George Novak
In its second year, Tauranga's Water Polo on the Waterfront proved just as popular with players and spectators as the first year. Sports reporter David Beck was there to soak up the atmosphere and speak to the winners.
They may not boast the most intimidating team name in the WaterPolo on the Waterfront tournament but the Goldfish have proven a force to be reckoned with.
It is not often you see Goldfish take down Piranhas but that was the case in the men's final as the team made up of players from Auckland's Marist Water Polo Club secured back-to-back titles with a 4-3 win.
Goldfish captain Callum Maxwell said the tournament, a five-a-side, shortened version of the sport, played in the open water, was "a bit of fun" but it was always nice to win.
"Conditions were a bit different, we had a king tide last year, but it's good to go back-to-back. It's a bit of fun at the end of the day but it's also competitive at the same time.
"It was really competitive, after the success of last year there were a lot more people involved."
He said the tournament was an effective advertisement for the sport, drawing the attention of passers by at Tauranga's Tidal Steps. Even while being interviewed, Maxwell was asked to pose for a photo by an American tourist who said he'd "never seen water polo played in real life before".
"It's outstanding. Tauranga is very good for supporting water polo and it's good to see people travelling from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. It's great for the sport.
"It's good for the kids as well, a lot of young people coming down to watch and hopefully it inspires them to get involved," Maxwell said.
Tauranga Piranhas player Andrew Newton looks to make a pass under pressure. Photo / George Novak
Meanwhile, this year's edition of the tournament included a women's division for the first time and it was the Stingrays, made up of players from various regions, who took the gold medal with a 7-6 win over the Sharks in a sudden death shootout in the final.
Stingrays captain Katie McKenty said the final was "a really tough game".
"The Sharks definitely gave it to us but it's a lot of fun, it's a social competition. It's really exciting to be part of the first women's tournament here and we're really grateful.
"The tournament is amazing, I think it should be amazing. What everyone has done for water polo here in Tauranga is amazing."
McKenty said she had been playing water polo since she was about 10 and innovations like Water Polo on the Waterfront were good for getting more people involved.
"Beach water polo is a lot faster, being five a-side and continuous most of the time. They just had it at the world champs for the first year as well so it's really cool. Obviously, there were a lot of festivals and things on in Tauranga recently which brought heaps of people here and I think lots of them came for a look."
Stingrays captain Katie McKenty led her side to a first place finish at Water Polo on the Waterfront. Photo / Andrew Warner
Event organiser Danny Kayes said it had been "a really good tournament".
"The weather was interesting, it's been really sunny but also really strong winds. That tested our equipment and the conditions and the athletes as well, that was tricky but it's been a successful tournament and everyone seemed to enjoy it which is good.
"Last year, we had really strong tides, this year they were great but there was the wind. Every year we're learning a lot which is good, we want to keep improving."
He said the quality of water polo throughout the tournament was "awesome".
"We raised the prize money this year and I think with that we've seen people take it a bit more seriously and go a bit harder in those playoff games to try and get that prize money.
"The feedback has been good. I've seen a lot of the general public coming down, asking what the sport is and showing some interest in how it runs in New Zealand versus overseas.
A huge congrats to our inaugural #WPOTWF women’s champions the Stingrays who won 7-6 in penalties against the Sharks! They walk away with $1500 prize money 🤽🏾♀️💦💛
"We've had a lot of people show a lot of interest which is awesome because that's the main reason we held it at the Tauranga Tidal Steps - we wanted to showcase water polo to the Tauranga community," Hayes said.
