Junior tournament week provided an excellent opportunity for sports enthusiasts, or those with aspirations of being such, to try something different.
Queen's had girls playing handball, tennis, cricket, volleyball and touch. With handball not being a mainstream sport, this was a learning experience dashed with a good dose of fun and competitiveness. Already a group has had another handball practice in anticipation of more competitions to come.
Rain dominated the Tuesday touch competition but the Queen's junior team coped with the elements and opposition, and enjoyed evenly matched games. Three girls have since passed the first step towards becoming referees by completing the online theory test and are looking forward to putting this into practice in the New Year.
Futsal players have again experienced success in the junior competition with the team in division 1 having had only one goal scored against it it going into the finals.
Emma Howell and Sian Remon represented Queen's at the recent South Island secondary schools track cycling championships in Invercargill and are to be commended on their performances in their first major event.
Queen's staff member Helen Lowther is a recipient of an NZSSSC service school sport award, to mark the 10th year of NZSSSC and work done by volunteers. This is a well-deserved honour for her exceptional work with aerobics.
Tokomairiro High School
Six Tokomairiro teams represented the school at junior tournaments run by the OSSSA. Success was achieved by Jessica Hutton and Maria Scott, who won the bowls competition. It was their second year going to the tournament and they beat all the other teams convincingly. First-timers Trevor Thompson and Ben Pepper finished third in the competition.
The girls volleyball team had a busy day at the Edgar Centre, playing five games and finishing fifth of 12 teams in the B division. The girls, all new to the sport, played very well and learned a lot.
Touch, which is fast gaining popularity at Toko, entered two mixed teams. The A team made it to the final without being pushed too hard. Five games in one day was always going to be tough and for most it was their first taste of championship touch. In the final, the team met Kaikorai Valley College. After leading 4-2 at halftime, the Toko team tired and was eventually worn down by KVC's structure on attack. A last-minute score by Dylan Lee could not prevent KVC winning 6-5.
Otago Boys' High School
For the second year in a row, the sevens team made the top eight (the only South Island school to do so) of the national tournament. Otago Boys' went through pool play unbeaten with a 34-0 win over St John's Hamilton and a 29-10 win over De La Salle, from Auckland. The team then played four-time national champion Kelston and knocked it out with a 19-17 win.
Otago Boys' was beaten by eventual champion Rotorua Boys' in the quarterfinal and finished with a ranking of seventh of 24 teams. With seven members of the ream returning to school next year, this was valuable exposure at the national level.
Otago Boys' had a real presence at the Oceania basketball qualifying series in Fiji. Sam Timmins and Joe Cook-Green were key members of the Junior Tall Blacks, who suffered a narrow loss to Australia in the final. And staff member Brent Matehaere was the coach of the Junior Tall Ferns.
Bayfield High School
Bayfield pupils have recently competed in the South Island volleyball championships, with the following results: year 10 boys, 10th in division one; year 9 boys, 15th in division one; year 10 girls, third in division two. The year 9 girls were unplaced, but competed well.
The school is excited to continue with the current futsal/football development programme, which has started successfully and been taken up by a considerable number of Bayfield girls and boys. Futsal will continue in terms one and four, with football in terms two and three.
Selected pupils will be selected for the Bayfield High School sports development programme and will complete a coach education programme, organised by Sport Otago and delivered by Scarlett Hagen.
Mount Aspiring College
Holly Wigg competed at the Otago-Southland karate open earlier this term, winning gold in kata and silver in kumite for her age-group and a silver in the women's open kata.
Adam Hewson, Ben Hadida, Gregor Findlay, Finlay Nolet, Alex Plimmer, Adam Breen, Rory Hannon and Matt McLean competed in the Otago junior volleyball qualifying tournament in Dunedin. The team came second in its pool and third overall.
Ines Stephani, Annie Timu, Michael Gealogo and Caitlin Gibson have been selected to represent the southern region at the New Zealand age-group tennis tournaments in Auckland early next year.
Erica Ayres and Eliza Rogers won the girls non-competitive tennis at the Otago junior tournament week in Dunedin. Alex Plimmer and Jake Nicholson also placed in the boys competitive tennis.
Nico Bowering, Masyn Opetaia, Sam Teal, Jack East and Ollie Williams-Holloway were members of the Central Otago rugby league team that won the southern zone intermediate competition, the Brad Thorn Cup.
The following Mount Aspiring pupils competed well at the first athletics meeting this season in Dunedin: Janus Staufenberg (third, 1500m 15-17 years), Gregor Findlay (first, 1500m 14 years), Julius Staufenberg (fourth, 1500m 14 years), Henry Hardaker (first, 200m 14 years), Laura MacCullough (second, 200m and 400m 15-17 years), Phoebe Young (first, 1500m 14 years) and Sammy Burke (second, 1500m 15-17 years).
Cromwell College
Year 7 and 8 pupils had an athletics exchange with Mount Aspiring College which provided great competition.
Jaide Dixon, Kelsey Clark, Michael Manson, Mitai Ngataki and Alanah Ward all travelled to Dunedin for Otago athletics, where Michael placed second in the discus and Alanah second in the 100m.
A mixed touch team travelled to Dunedin for junior tournament week and placed third. These same pupils went on a touch tour, playing Dunstan, Roxburgh, Toko, Palmerston and Kaikorai Valley College over two days.
Anna Wallis and Hazel Gibson placed fourth in the Otago equestrian event last weekend.
Columba College
The junior water polo team competed in the South Island tournament in Christchurch recently and won the bronze medal.
The junior A touch team won the junior tournament held recently, winning all five games and beating St Hilda's 10A 3-2 in the final.
The senior A touch team travels to Auckland this month to compete in the national championships.
Rose Johnston and Charlotte Calder have been selected in the Otago under-21 women's cricket team.
The following girls are on the Columba honours board for New Zealand representation: Holly Barclay (ice hockey and triathlon), Charlotte Cahill (cross-country), Grace Carruthers (touch), Hanna English (athletics, cross-country and football), Grace Finnerty (BMX), Megan Guest (synchronised swimming), Georgia Hamilton (water-skiing), Maddy Jones (karate), Phoebe Steele (hockey and touch) and Emma Winders (rowing).
Bailey Saville has been selected in the Academy Otago Talent Xcelerator Programme by Sport Otago for cycling.
Kavanagh College
Kavanagh held its junior prizegiving on November 27 and, as at the senior prizegiving, the college showcased its immense sporting talent. Two categories of awards were given - outstanding contribution to the various sports, and sporting excellence, which rewarded pupils for high levels of performance. The major award was the principal's trophy for junior sportsperson of the year, and this was awarded to Matile Ioane.
Futsal has been very popular at Kavanagh this term with seven junior teams. In the final round of games, Kavanagh had two of its teams playing off for first place in their respective divisions. The Kavanagh year 10 boys placed second in the boys section three, and the Kavanagh year 9-10 blue girls also finished second in section two. The Kavanagh College First XI has had an excellent start to the season, winning four games in a row in the second grade men's competition. Kavanagh is also looking forward to hosting Nudgee College, from Australia, which is playing two one-day games in January against the first XI and second XI.
Blue Mountain College
Talented 15-year-old twins Kate and Georgia Heffernan have been selected in the Otago under-21 cricket team - an awesome achievement from the these two stars of the future.
Other talented cricketers - Cindy Weller, Hollie Kelly, Georgia Thomson, Eden Jones, Sandra Horrell and Paige McIvor - along with the Heffernan girls were in the Otago Country under-15 team that won the districts tournament in Gore. Georgia, Eden, Holly, Cindy and the twins are all trialling at Oturehua to gain selection for the Otago under-15 team.
At junior tournament week, the year 9-10 girls cricket team notched up wins over St Hilda's and Queen's. Talented cricketer Ben Rea has been selected in the Southland under-17 team.
Twelve-year-old Laura Weller is included in the Otago under-13 basketball team, while Yvonne van Baarle was the sole pupil who attended the New Zealand secondary schools athletics in Wanganui last weekend.
Roxburgh Area School
Roxburgh pupils attended different sports last week in Dunedin and Cromwell and competed very well. Daniel Arnesen played in the the golf tournament in Cromwell and won it. Daniel has a handicap of 12 and is a year 9 boy, so is definitely one to watch.
Roxburgh also attended the dodgeball, volleyball and touch days, entering mixed teams in these. The volleyball teams played well to hold their own in the boys B grade, as there were no other mixed teams. Caileigh Forbes gave everything for the team, always thinking of the game plan and setting shots. Athletic flair was shown by Jordan Dance and Blaine McGann, who had good elevation and were always prepared to put their bodies on the line.
Dodgeball was a new sport to the tournament and the school had a group of enthusiastic pupils who were keen to take part. The most aggressive player was Brooke Johnston. The touch team once again played well and improved as the day went on. An outstanding contribution came from Daniel Arnesen with his sidekick, Tiaan McKinnel.
• These articles are compiled by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association (OSSSA) which is proudly sponsored by Perpetual Guardian Trust.
