It is the event of the weekend in South Africa. The city of Durban is hosting the Interclubs and is returning to UWH after a year without competition. Interview with Heine Engelbrecht, president of the South African underwater hockey federation.
One day before the return of the competitions in South Africa, the mood is one of excitement and joy, like a bubble of oxygen that appears at the right time for Heine: « People are hungry to play and we are very privileged to play. Even though we are confined, we have different levels of lockdown. We’re at Level 1, we have to, for example, to wear masks, but we’re very happy to be able to play. » Interclub, in the springbok country, is a bit of a reunion, a time to enjoy underwater hockey, but not just that: « People say it’s not competitive, but once you’re in the water, it’s always competitive »
This year’s competition will be held in Durban, a historic South African underwater hockey city with a quality pool and important people, who have already given part of their lives to underwater hockey: « We have the Kings Park complex that has been redesigned. It’s been repainted, the water is good and we have a very good organizational team like Brent Borstlap and Julie, who have been playing underwater hockey for years, Gary Fitzgerald and George Watson. All people who have been playing underwater hockey for years. »
After a year without competition, like all over the world, the teams have responded to come back around the pools and it is also a proof that South Africa is a great underwater hockey nation: « We have good entries: 8 men’s teams, 7 women’s teams, there are men’s masters teams and women’s masters teams so we have a good spread. »
Cape Town is the dominant club in the country. Since the start of the Interclubs more than 40 years ago, the club from one of the three capital cities has enjoyed an almost constant turnover of players. « Cape Town is a place where everyone wants to go, even our young players. When they go to study at university they all go to Cape Town. » The defending champions can count on a multitude of young players from other provinces. However, this does not stop the club from having experienced elements to mentor this youth. Dirk Tromp, who has been with the club since 2012 and is also a South African Elite and Masters player, played his 20th consecutive Interclub last year. This makes Cape Town one of the favourites for the title, according to Heine. « It’s gonna be between Capetown and Gauteng for the men and probably Capetown and Durban for the Ladies« . The Durban women’s team will be able to count on its internationals, Julie Borstlap and Jeannie Fogwell Van der Merwe, to try to retain their title.
See you next week to get the results and don’t hesitate to follow all South African UWH federation to get the updates during this week-end.
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