At the beginning of Term 3 the much-anticipated fitness centre Te Whare Rēhia was officially opened. This facility is going to be a great asset for Cashmere High students, particularly for those that are striving to improve and seek personal excellence. Initially in Term 3 the facility will look to serve senior sport athletes as we look for the best way to integrate the options into our sporting programme. With fields closed, Te Whare Rēhia hosted the 1st XV rugby team doing two circuit sessions in the facility in the first week as an alternative training option. These sessions were run by Davi Stemler who has been employed as a personal trainer to run programmes and classes for students. As the facility develops, we will also be looking at ways we can reengage youth that are no longer participating in sport. The is more information about Te Whare Rēhia and ways students can use the facility on our sports website.

It has been fantastic to get around the grounds and courts to see the Cashmere colours well represented across the winter codes again in 2022. Big numbers represent Cashmere on the traditional Wednesday afternoon with football, netball, badminton, cycling and table tennis teams all popular in 2022. On weekends we have netball, rugby and basketball teams playing in all of the secondary school competitions. Term Two has been a challenging one to get students and teams playing sport on a consistent basis. Wet weather, illness and defaults have met that a number of teams have been affected and the disruption has been unavoidable. We thank all involved for their patience and understanding when it comes to all of the late changes- that have occurred during the term.

Sport offers many opportunities to those that are willing to do the work and sometimes just say yes. One of the students who has been able to have an experience of a lifetime in Term Two is Annabel Bligh in Year 13. Annabelle spent time in Europe competing in mountain bike races and all the highs and lows that go with the experience. Have a read of the Q&A with Annabel to find out about her adventures.

Waimea Sports Exchange

During Term 2 Cashmere visited Waimea College for the annual sports exchange. Many hurdles tried to get in the way of the exchange in 2022 including illness, isolation and finally the weather with a large snowfall in Lewis Pass. This meant the 62 students and staff headed up the coastal route and were warmly welcomed on arrival. Students were hosted by Waimea students while staff shared a meal to further build on past exchanges. On the day of exchange Waimea had a fast start picking up good wins in the boys’ basketball and boys football. Cashmere fought back with wins in the netball and girls’ football. This left the girls basketball as the decider for the exchange in 2022 and the Waimea gymnasium was filled with vocal support for both schools. Scores were tied throughout the fourth quarter and a tense last minute saw Waimea edge ahead by 2 points and take the honours for the year. The sports exchange was again a huge success with a focus on both the sport and relationships between both schools. Bring on 2023 where we look to reclaim the shield!

Term 2 Highlights:

• Adventure Racing - Cashmere teams came in 3rd, 5th and 8th at the Hillary Challenge Regionals with the Premier team qualifying for the National finals to be held in October.
• Cross Country – Top Results from the Canterbury Secondary Schools Champs were U16 Girls 1st Brynne Gordon, 2nd Senior Girls Elsbeth M, 3rd Senior Boys Angus S.
• Cross Fit – Johan Roberts (Y13) finished as the top ranked male in the world 16-17 year old category. Johan travelled to USA in July/August for the World Champs.
• Cycling – At the recent South Island Road Cycling Championships Cashmere had some outstanding results. Millie Junge won the U15 Road Race and U15 Time Trial, Eliana Beale finished 3rd in the U16 Time Trial and Meg Baker won the U17 Girls Road Race and Time Trial.

• The Cyclocross South Island Champs was also held in the recent holidays with Cashmere students finishing amongst the medals. Maria Laurie and Daniel Lovegrove won the U20 races, John Laurie won the U16 race while Henry Lovegrove finished 3rd.
• Orienteering – Kyla Moore - Intermediate Girls 3rd Sprint / 2nd Long, James Wright -Intermediate Boys 1st Sprint / 1st Long and Thomas Zinzan Junior Boys 1st Sprint / 2nd Long all achieved some great results at the SISS Orienteering Championship.

• Road Race - Canterbury Secondary Schools: Millie Junge 2nd Y9, Thomas Newsom 2nd U16 Boys, Brynne Gordon 1st U16 Girls, Angus Sevier 1st Senior Boys, Elspeth McGuinness 1st Senior Girls.

• Squash – A small team of Cashmere students headed to the South Island Champs in Nelson with Sophia Barakat Adlam, Olivia McCoy and Poppy Sargentina finishing in 3rd place.

A number of students have been named in representative teams over the last few month.

National

• Kayaking – Natasha MacGibbon (NZ Junior)
• Volleyball – Brooke Smith (Junior Women), Finn Howard (U20 Men)
• Orienteering – Kaia Jorgensen, Isabella Zinzan (Senior), Finn van Keulen, James Wright, Karin Prince (Junior)

Canterbury

• Basketball – Will Hull, Ethan Weston, Jack Watson, Fenella Chittock, Lily Burrows, Harmony Lloyd-Mann (U15), Rueben Booth, Sam Kenny, Harry Weston, Ellie McDougal, Thomson Hamilton, Indi Beeforth (U17), Amelia Cunningham, Keira Hill, Alex Wenmoth (U19)
• Hockey – Matthew Fairhall (U18), Elliot Smith (U18B)
• Netball - Stella Shields, Isabella Faingaanuku, Leah Pratten, Ellie McDougall (U16)
• Volleyball – Ethan and Issac Rademaker, Sam Higgins (U17), Noah Smith, Rio Mahauariki, Finn Howard (U19)

Winter Tournament Week

The pinnacle for our premier winter sport teams is tournament week which takes place in Week 6. After cancellations for the past 2 years, we are all hopeful of this year’s events going ahead as planned. Cashmere will be sending teams and students throughout New Zealand to compete in a wide range of sporting codes. Well done to all students that have been selected to represent Cashmere at these events and good luck to all teams. Up to date results and draws will be available on the school sport website and published on the school social media pages.

Michael Jones
Sports Director

Mountain Biking through Europe

An insight from Y13 student Annabelle Bligh who spent Term 2 in Europe competing in mountain biking events.

How long have you been mountain biking, and what do you enjoy most about the sport?

I have grown up around bikes my whole life, however I didn’t start racing competitively until I was 12 years old, where I represented my primary school at the time, at schools racing. Mountain biking has been a massive part of my life, I've met so many amazing people and lifelong friends through the sport. I enjoy mountain biking because I enjoy challenging myself, and often scaring myself a few too many times. It’s also been unreal watching the sport grow, and especially in the women’s field, being a male dominated sport.

Can you outline a little about the trip that you have recently been on?

I have recently been lucky enough to travel to Europe for a couple of months with the Kiwi MTB Collective team to race the World Cup series. I had never been to Europe before this trip, so not only was it a race experience, but also a cultural experience. We travelled around Europe in a van following the UCI world cups, with a few other races in between. Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Austria, and Switzerland had the best courses and races I have ever experienced, and I would definitely love to get back to these places next year! My best result on the trip was 5th in a UCI Category 1 race held in Slovakia. I was lucky enough to gain a couple more top 10’s and top 20’s along the way, which I was very happy with! My team are still in Europe racing, so I have been enjoying following their progress since being home!

How did this opportunity to travel to Europe start / who organised it?

This amazing opportunity was created by Scott Woods, who formed the Kiwi MTB Collective team to support development of New Zealand XC MTB athletes, enabling and empowering them to progress onto the international stage and ultimately supporting the growth of MTB in New Zealand. Coming from NZ and the sport having a lack of funding from the governing body, it’s so hard to be noticed and even get onto the world stage in the first place. We have been lucky enough to have Scott creating an incredible pathway by providing logistical and financial support to compete in Europe over the UCI World Cup season.

What were some of the stand-out moments of the trip?

This whole trip has been a stand-out moment, no doubt there have been their ups and downs, but it’s been the best 56 days of my life, and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Making it to the World Cup circuit has been a dream of mine since I was young, so just even being there in person was incredible. I think the whole team can agree with me when I say we may have been fangirling a little bit. Casually riding past your idols, you are used to watching on TV, in the event village was pretty exciting. Nevertheless, no one would have ever thought that the wee Kiwi team with a marquee would be parked up in the UCI World cup Nove Mesto pro team pits next to the biggest names in the sport.

What specific things did you learn about your sport or being a full time athlete?

European racing is next level and definitely something we lack here in NZ with the courses and the competitors. Going from a “big field” of 10 girls in a NZ race compared to a field of 100 girls in a European World Cup is pretty different. It’s also insane the amount of money that is floating around the pits in Europe, nothing like you would ever see at home. If you want to race mountain bikes as a career, this is where you need to be. This experience has given me that drive to train harder and be just like one of those top European girls. This trip has taught me the tips and tricks for racing in Europe, from the large starts, warming up in the boxes, the courses, finding lines, and the importance of pre-race protocols. This trip has also taught me about the amount of organisation and support it takes to run a team, and I just wanted to take the time to say a massive thank you to Scott Woods and our sponsors for the opportunity you have helped to create for us.

What were the major challenges that you faced while travelling?

Unfortunately, while travelling around Europe, I was also trying to juggle keeping up with school at the same time. This turned out to be pretty much impossible when you are racing every weekend and travelling to a different country every week. As you can imagine, my school holidays are going to be busy! Another big challenge we experienced were definitely the language barriers as most places we were staying were very small towns out in the middle of nowhere so no English was spoken at all. Unfortunately, I did finish my trip off with a crash during practice for a Swiss cup race in Granichen, and managed to land myself in the hospital for multiple days and having to get surgery on my knee. The amount of paperwork just to be looked at for a starter was insane, and it took a couple of days to fill out more paperwork to allow me to fly home. This was definitely the most stressful part of the trip for both my parents and I.

Who were the key people in supporting you on / to go on the trip?

Firstly, I would like to say a massive thank you to my parents for everything they have done for me! Scott Woods & Kiwi MTB collective, thank you so much for the amazing opportunity and creating such an incredible pathway for the young XC community, we certainly are looking forward to seeing how this grows! Many thanks to Talleys and Deep South for helping to create this amazing experience for the team. Personally, a huge thank you to Sheridan contracting for the continued support, I appreciate it very much. Huge thank you to Miss Beer and my teachers for supporting me while I was away. Last but not least, a massive thank you to everyone who was kind enough to donate to my raffle, your support was much appreciated. The team has very much enjoyed their first half of the trip, and I can’t wait to support and watch the team as they enter the second half of their season!

Any future plans with mountain biking?

I would certainly love to get back over to Europe next year and I guess see where it takes me! But for now, it’s time to get back to school…