2021 has been a year of many achievements for Burnside Girls Volleyball.

Throughout the season we did not lose a single game, nor was there a game that we did not give our all. This drive and hunger we displayed is what allowed us to come away as Canterbury, Mainland and National Secondary Schools' Champions. This was well deserved, with the intensive training we did, and the classroom sessions we partook in working to create a strong and unified culture within our team.

Alongside the indoor titles, we also found success on the beach. At Mount Maunganui, at the NZ Secondary Schools' Beach Volleyball Champs, we took away 1st, 9th and 11th in the Senior Girls' Division 1 grade, and 13th in Division 2.

Most importantly, this season was fun. For many of us, this was the last time playing with the group of girls that we’ve been playing with since Year 9. This allowed us to form a bond like not many other teams had and bring us together. Our friendship is what made this season exciting, and it is what allowed us to develop close connections to those who we played with.

The team culture played a huge role in what made us such a successful team, and we have Mr Ryburn to thank as much as ourselves for infusing those qualities into our court continuously. For this year’s values, we took inspiration from the Knights of the Round Table. Each member of our team represented a knight, based on the qualities we brought to the team. Every time we stepped on the court, whether for training or a national final, the knights helped to remind us of our strength and to put into action our values.

We would also like to thank everybody who made this season possible; Mrs Taylor, Mrs Smith, Mrs Guillemot, Ben Laing, Mrs Richards and Mr Ryburn - this wouldn’t have been possible without you. Good luck to the next generation of Burnside Volleyballers!

Rosa Vesty and Alannah Pile (Co-captains, Senior A team)