Bayfield High School
Bayfield pupils Samantha and Shannon Hope, Kieran Duncan and Jess Todd competed against 22 other secondary school teams in the annual Otago Rail Trail Duathlon. On the first day, Kieran completed the first run leg in the front group. This allowed Samantha to gain a good position for her bike leg, and with further strong legs from Jess and Shannon, Bayfield finished the day leading the mixed team category.
The second day saw further good performances help the team win the mixed team category and finish second overall.
Three days later, all team members competed at the Otago-Southland triathlon and multisport championships in Cromwell.
Shannon Hope was first in the individual girls junior multisport race. Sam Hope was a member of the winning team for the senior multisport race, while Keiran and Jess were the second team in the senior multisport race. Another outstanding effort came from Alice Cuthbert, who won the junior girls individual race by more than 20 minutes.
Shannon and Samantha Hope also featured at the cross-country mountain bike series recently held in Dunedin. Shannon was first in the under-17 event and Samantha was third in the under-19 race. The second round of this event was held in Christchurch. Shannon finished second and Samantha was fourth. Both girls are going to compete in the Oceania mountain bike championships in Rotorua this month.
Raphael Kammlein-Culter was 13th in the national under-19 mountain bike downhill event and 11th in the South Island under-19 cup.
Danielle Galdeman placed third in the annual Octagon Gutbuster in January. Danielle completed the course in 40.87sec.
• Columba sport
The annual athletic sports were held at the Caledonian Ground at the end of February. Five records fell: to Sian and Hanna English in their age-group 3000m races, Clora Quinlan-Thompson in the shot put and discus, and Bridget Collins in the 1500m.
The school had a strong showing at the Otago-Southland triathlon in Cromwell. Despite a clash with the school athletic sports, Columba was able to send 18 athletes to Cromwell and earn the top two places in both the junior and senior teams section. The Columba senior team of Emily Poon (swim), Laura Bridger (cycle) and Laura Carruthers (run) combined to record a commanding win. Olivia Stevens (swim), Georgie Wood (cycle) and Tara Bennett (run) had a strong showing for second place, six minutes clear of the next team.
The Columba junior team of Anna MacDonald (run and swim) and Bailey Saville (cycle) also won its section, with Anna demonstrating her top form in two disciplines and Bailey showing her strength as one of Columba's top junior cyclists.
Charlotte Hall, Phoebe Swale and Nicole Ker were not too far off the top team to earn a respectable second place. The girls are now gearing up for South Island and national events.
The first meeting of the Columba Sports Council for 2012 was held recently. The council has set a list of goals for the coming year to further develop and foster sport at the college. Kelvin Carruthers continues to chair the council, which has a mix of new and existing members. The council has appointed a coaching co-ordinator to further develop coaching in the school. Mike Weddell, from Sport Otago, has conducted a "getting started in coaching" course for 53 prospective pupil coaches at the school. The girls will coach junior Columba teams and help with sport in the primary school.
• Schools touch
The touch competition has been running on Tuesdays at the Kensington Oval for the past three weeks. A record (for recent times) 65 teams play matches at 4pm, 4.30pm and 5pm across 12 fields.
All Dunedin schools are represented and this term, East Otago High School has entered a senior mixed team.
All the usual heavyweights are well represented, with King's fielding 10 teams, Otago Girls' nine, St Hilda's eight, and John McGlashan, Otago Boys' and Columba six teams each. Along with East Otago, Logan Park and Bayfield have entered senior mixed teams, swelling the senior girls grade to 16 sides. Teams are spread across junior girls and boys A and B sections and senior boys and girls grades. Not only are numbers on the increase, but the standard of play across all grades continues to improve.
The recent Otago qualifying tournament saw King's and Tokomairiro High School qualify for the South Island schools touch tournament in the boys grade. The strong St Hilda's Collegiate team will be accompanied by Columba College in the girls section, and South Otago High School and Kaikorai Valley College have qualified in the mixed teams grade.
• Outstanding performance
Queen's High School athlete Christina Ashton competed at the South Island Colgate Games in Nelson in January, winning gold in the 14yr girls 100m and 80m hurdles and placing fourth in the 200m. She has followed up these successes with five Otago senior titles. She won the 15 and under 100m, triple jump and 200m, and the 16-17yr 100m and 100m hurdles. Christina provided inspiration for her peers at the annual athletic sports, winning the under-15 championship convincingly. Hayley Kettings and Paytra Wallace shared the under-14 title, Emily White won the under-16 title and Hannah Bohling won the over-16 title. Thirteen athletes will compete at the Otago secondary schools championships on March 10.
This year, Queen's High School has introduced a junior sport development programme with the support of Kiwisport funding.
Pupils in this programme will develop their individual sport skills and fitness levels and learn about goal setting, time management, and how to officiate and coach.
The programme will link pupils with regional sports associations and community groups. One of its goals is to recognise and develop leadership skills in our juniors.
Calendar
Today: Orienteering summer series, Chingford Park.
March 9: Weekly squash starts.
March 9-10: Otago athletics championships, Caledonian.
March 10-11: South Island rowing, Lake Ruataniwha.
March 14: Orienteering summer series, Island Park.
March 16: Eagles intercollegiate golf, Balmacewen; South Island tennis, Timaru.
March 17: Schools rowing, Harbour Basin.
These articles are compiled by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association (OSSSA), which is proudly sponsored by Perpetual.
Contact Des Smith, Otago Regional sports director, PO Box 6303, Dunedin. Email: des@osssa.org.nz.
