SA Canoe Polo – National Training Camp 1 Info
Re: National Canoe Polo Squad for 2018
The national canoe polo committee held a Skype meeting on the 30 September 2017. The purpose of the meeting was to decide on the way forward for the various squads, as well as the selection of the coaching team. The national committee is looking at the long term goals for the various squads, to develop the squads so that they can compete on an international level. The outcomes were as follows:
Ladies: The ladies squad will not be attending world championships in Canada as the committee believes the team is not at the level required to attend a world championships. The squad will however attend a European tour so that the ladies can gain valuable playing experience leading up to the Rome 2020 world championships.
U21 and Men: The men and U21 men’s teams have not qualified for world championships in Canada 2018. It is therefore very unlikely that the teams will be attending world championships, as there are limited wild card entries. For this reason the national committee has decided to combine the men and U21 men squads and send 2 teams to Europe in August 2018. If the very unlikely situation that the men’s team gets a wild card they will have an extended tour which would include world champs in Canada. This does not mean that the second team will not tour.
Once again the aim is to develop players over the long term so that we can compete on an international level, this tour will help develop players for the 2020 world championships.
U16 squad: The committee has decided, with a long term strategy in mind, to have Chris de Bree coordinate the development of the U16 players nationally. Players around the country will be identified and will be assisted along the way to grow into competitive players who will be able to step up into the U21 category. The goals would be to select a national U16 team to play at the African Champs in 2019 and to attend a European tour in the same year. Some of these players could potentially contend for a spot in the U21 teams for Rome 2020.
Coaches: The national committee is taking a different approach to the coaching of the national teams. Players from around the country will be mentored and coached by a “team” of coaches. Clive Whitton and Kevin Meier will head up the national squad and overseas the coaching in Kwa-Zulu Natal with the assistance of Donovan Wewege in the Western Cape and Michael Halls in Gauteng. The training camps will be run differently going forward and will promote the spreading of knowledge between teams. Players will be filled in on the coaching structure at the first training camp.
Players are required to RSVP to their respective regional coaches for the first training camp next week (Don in Western Cape, Michael in Gauteng and Kevin in KZN) as soon as possible. Players management fee of R1500 can be made to the following account:
Account name: Canoeing South Africa
Bank: Nedbank
Branch: Pinetown
Branch code: 133 926
Account no: 1339 344 203
Type: Current Account
Reference: Name and Canoe Polo
Please take not that all the tours will be development tours and therefore national or federation colours will not be awarded.
Kind regards,
Christopher de Bree
On behalf of the South African Canoe Polo Committee
(Clive Whitton, Iain Clarke and Laurel Oettle)