Fifteen teams traveled to nine different locations around New Zealand during winter tournament week in September. That equated to 158 students who were given the opportunity to show their skills and represent Burnside High School in major tournaments. We were very successful with highlights listed below.

Ice Hockey:

Our team - which was made up of Burnside High students, one Rangi Ruru student, and one home-schooled student -  ended up 5th place in B Grade (couldn't play A grade because of the mixed schools), but it sounds like it was an enjoyable experience for them all! Nathan van Slooten got a mention at the prizegiving for his organisation of our team to get to their first ever Ice Hockey Tournament, plus was awarded the Top B Grade MVP Defensive player! Thanks to the team’s wonderful coach, Rachel Gabbard-Jasper and parent manager, Delia van Slooten.

Badminton NZSS:

Well, it was a bit of a nail-biter, but our teams came away with a gold and a silver. The Boys beat Waimea (Nelson combined) to win Gold. In the Girls final, they lost 1 - 5 to Westlake Girls. There were a number of 3 set matches, but Westlake were a little too strong.  A fantastic result that could not have been achieved without the time and effort put in by Murray Paull.

Netball SISS:

The SISS netball tournament held in Nelson was a great success with the biggest achievement making it back into A grade after at least 10 years trying to get out of B grade. Two sunny days followed by two rainy days made games and recovery tough. Losing only one game out of eight played, the girls smashed Waimea to place third securing a place in A grade in 2020. Brooke Williams and Cathy Porter were also named in the tournament team. An outstanding performance from our girls who have been working hard all season. Congratulations to team members: Rosa Vesty, Bella Pickering, Ella Downing, Tayla Mackie, Riley Thompson, Bridie Thompson, Tahlia Perham, Cathy Porter, Brooke Williams, Desa Jackson and Kaela McLean; coach, Theresa Smith, assistant coach, Zoe Walker and parent manager, Renee Burns.

Girls Football NZSS:

Our Premier Girls were unlucky with injuries to key players including Ellena Firth the captain. Without any subs, and playing in bad weather here in ChCh, it was pretty tough on the girls, reflecting in their 20th place finish. Thanks to coaches Jayden Smith and Sam Manners who have developed and supported the girls all season and to tournament Manager, Anna Wetherall.

Boys Football NZSS:

These boys enjoyed their tournament, coming in 23rd place. Special thanks to coaches, Andrew Bull, Graham McMann and Manager, Dave Williams for all their work.

Girls Hockey NZSS:

The girls lost their quarter-final on a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw, they were gutted!

They had a full on week and finished 6th place in the Marie Fry Tournament. Special thanks to coach Scott Anderson and manager Rebekah Moreno for their tireless efforts towards this team.

Boys Hockey NZSS:

The boys won their game against St Paul's Collegiate in a sudden death shootout, 4-3, after drawing the game 2-2 to take them to the 5th/6th place game in the top India Shield Tournament. Goalie Emil Collins had an incredible game! Coaches, Sam Bennett and Sean Wilson, Manager, Bern Christeller, and Chief Fundraiser and assistant manager, Hilary Wilson were very pleased with a 6th place finish.

Boys Junior Basketball SISS:

The boys finished their tournament in Dunedin in 4th place. A great result from coaches Samantha Ward, Fleur Truscott and the boys.

Boys Senior Basketball SISS:

The boys had a great 75-59 win over Wakatipu to start their tournament here in Christchurch. Coach, Adam Morgan, and parent manager, Paul Nicholson had a very exciting tournament with this great group of boys to finish 4th.

Girls Senior Basketball SISS:

The girls had two great wins to start their tournament, beating Riccarton 73-34 and Villa 79-32. A big thank you to coach, Shahanna Martin, and manager, Marinda van Vuuren for their work and taking the girls to 2nd place.

Table Tennis NZSS:

We have yet again won the A Grade Team Championships for a third year in a row!! A great result for the team and manager, Tracy Taylor. Our mixed team come 1st and the Boys’ team placed 6th. Our individuals also had amazing results with Jiayi Zhou named the U19 Girls’ Champion, and Avon Liu was the U19 Girls’ Runner. Sang-Young Park was the U19 Boys’ Runner Up with silver, with Zak McKellar the U19 Boys’ 3rd equal winner.

Golf NZSS:

Phil Holstein was our fantastic manager, supporter and mentor for our golfers who placed 2nd at the National Champs. Individual results were Amy Weng 17th in U17, Jasmine Clancy placed 14th in U15, Hayato Miya claimed 2nd in U17 and Yuki Miya took 4th place in U15.

Sport Climbing SISS:

We had three fantastic parent managers for our two mixed teams at the South Island Champs. Team 2, Sue Petrie, Ben Petrie, Jordan Le Quellec and Simone Blakie climbed their way to 2nd place in the mixed teams’ category. A fantastic result.

Road Cycling Southern Tour:

Manager, Richard McBreaty continues to do an excellent job coordinating cycling. Erin Downie placed 11th overall in the Under 20 Girls’ Grade, with a couple of top 10 finishes across the four stages of the Road Race.

Fencing:

We had some outstanding performances from our fencing friends, with help from our coach, Sheldon Ogilvie, and parent manager, Janette James. Charlotte James placed 5th overall in the Women’s Individual Foil. Jacob Stark placed 6th in the Men’s Individual Foil and 1st in the Men’s Team Foil with the Mid-South composite team. Alex Holton fought his way to 9th place in the Men’s Individual Epee and a close 2nd place in the Men’s Team Epee with the Mid-South composite team.

Chess SISS:

Congratulations to our team on winning a bronze medal at the South Island championships. The players were, Boyu Feng, Wynn Mo, Oliver Camm and Leon Meier. Thank you to Tony Tang for all his work with this team. All the best to them at the National Tournament later this year.