Another year of Covid effected sport! Sport at Avonside this year has had its ups and downs!

The year started off as any other year. Summer sport got underway and then lock down happened and rostered days. Swimming Champs were done but unfortunately the Athletics Champs were held under duress and only the A grade field events were able to be held.

Swimming Sports

Swimming Sports was held at QE2 and it was great to be able to just walk across the field to the facilities. Competitor numbers were up with many more Year 9 and 10’s competing competitively. Many of these train and swim at QE2 which is an advantage to the school community. We competed at the South Island Champs and were the best achieving school out of the South Island schools. Well done to the swimmers! A big thank you to Belle Simpson for going with them and for the parent help.

Rowing 

Rowing luckily managed to complete most of their regattas under very strict regulations . Each school was allocated an area where they had to remain while racing and teams were encouraged to stay at their accommodations whilst not racing. It was a strange experience not being able to watch the other races but thanks to the South Island Rowing Committee at least that was one sport that was able to carry on Maadi Cup was allowed to go ahead and 5 of our students who earned the right to represent the school headed off to Twizel for the biggest school regatta in New Zealand. To their credit they all made A or B finals and Stella Cook and Ash Fleming were in the top 10 for their age group.

Winter Sports

Winter Sports got to start without any lockdowns or special conditions and we were pleased to see that the numbers over the traditional sports increased slightly. Great to see students wanting to participate especially with their friends. Winter Tournament finally happened much to the delight of all teams as they had not had a tournament for several years. 

Rugby

Rugby, well what a year, we were still able to field a full Avonside team playing in the UC Cup with our own jerseys. . We made it into the Grand Final against a very well drilled Christchurch Girls High School. The aim was to score at least one try and we came away with 17 points. Look out for next year!

Basketball

These girls have been playing Tuesday nights and have done exceptionally well.

Hockey

The First XI Hockey Team moved up a division and were contesting the Division 1 cup. The students developed so well over the year. Well done girls and let's hope you all come back next year.

Football

Football was another sport that developed throughout the year under the guidance of Mike Murray. This team had its ups and downs but managed to combine brilliantly at tournament so hopefully they will be ready for next year as all of them will be returning. They played in a new competition put on by Mainland Football where they played on turf every week so weather would not effect play. Referees were also provided.

Netball

The Netball season managed to continue with our A Team winning the Senior Supernet Reserve Grade on Wednesdays and going through to playoffs on the Saturday competition. Chloe Shea and Jodie Reuben trained and coached the girls brilliantly.

We try to give all our students an opportunity to attempt school sport and really appreciate the support we get from parents and families. We would like to adapt the same approach next year whereby parents support their students and coaches positively to gain more enjoyment out of the sports. A special thank you to all the parents who come and watch their young person. The students do appreciate it and it is so good to see the support. Remember though, positive comments should be made on the sideline, as we want to encourage our students, rather than make them feel useless. Too many comments telling them what to do confuses them so please leave the coaching up to the coach. We thank you for allowing your young person to participate. We also need more sport coaches to coach as like every other year we need students to learn and have the enjoyment without being put off from coaches being abruptly criticized from the sidelines. Please help out when you can and the students will greatly appreciate it.

The Sports Council this year has been active in getting activities going during lunchtimes. They have tried different activities such as the great Easter Bunny hunt. More turned out than expected but when there's chocolate involved the numbers increase twofold.

When reflecting on the year I always miss some part of the year that was especially important to special students and I apologize for this. We have special volunteers and without these people, we would be lost. Looking after simple things like helping out with uniforms and managing teams when required are greatly appreciated. We are truly grateful, as without you we would not be able to play the games.

Sport is a great way of getting to meet other students from other schools with different backgrounds. Some of these friendships carry on for many years and it is good for students when they leave school to be able to recognize others that they have played with or against.

If you know of anyone who can coach a team, please send them to me, ring me or drop their names into the conversation. I promise not to reveal my source but would be very grateful for any information, which may help our students.

Susie Paton

Sports Administrator