On 28 of September, our Senior A Netball team hopped in a van and headed down to Timaru, for the long awaited South Island Secondary Schools Netball tournament.

Two games were played each day from Monday through to finals on Thursday.

First up on Monday was Taieri College. Staying in it the whole way, our girls had to work hard and pull away with the win. Next was Southland Girls’, who came into the tournament to be the ones to beat. Unfortunately our girls could not finish this with a win, meaning Tuesday’s morning game against Dunstan High was a must win. We came in firing and comfortably won. This put us in the top 2 of our pool, meaning we had made top 16. Things were looking good!

Due to placing second in our pool, we ended up in another pool of 4 teams, two of which finished top in their pool, STAC and Rangi, and another team who finished second like Christchurch Girls' High School / Te Kura o Hine Waiora, Marlborough Girls’. Our second Tuesday game was against the tough STAC team. Having had hard battles throughout our Canterbury season, at which STAC always seemed to win, our girls came in ready to play their hearts out, and they did. This led to Christchurch Girls' High School / Te Kura o Hine Waiora winning 37-32! One of the biggest upsets at the tournament!

Next up were Rangi, our first game on Wednesday, who again we have played many times throughout the season, but if the STAC game taught us anything, it was that tournament is a whole new game. Rangi proved to want the win as much as we did, however again we came through with the win. Travelling to the beach for some colds, and many massages later, we were feeling good for our game against Marlborough. Yet another hard fought game which seemed to be even the whole way through, our girls hustled right to the end taking the win. This put us first at the top of our pool, placing us a spot in the semi!

Thursday morning rolled around, and we were up against St Hilda’s. Having never played each other before, we weren’t too sure what to expect, but we still came out firing for our first quarter. Neck and neck for a while, our girls made a break and got up by about 6. Holding onto this lead for the remaining 2 and 3 quarters, St Hildas seemed to pull it back in the last quarter to about 3. However, by this time damage was done, and our girls had earned themselves a spot in the final by winning 35 - 32.

Beside us, St Margaret’s College and Columba had their semi, at which SMC came away with the win. Two Christchurch teams in the final!!

We headed out to a beautiful spot in the countryside of Timaru, where we did some recovery and ate lunch. Nerves were rising as we headed back into the courts, where bleachers had moved to surround the centre court, and people continued to fill the seats. Having played SMC many times throughout the season, we knew their structure and created a game plan around this. Having played 7 intense games the previous three days, our girls were feeling it, but this didn’t stop them from putting yet another 100% into this game. Unfortunately our girls were not successful against the classy SMC side, but we’re still so proud to have made it this far. Being seeded 1st from the SISS held three years ago in 2019, and claiming second place in 2022 was an amazing achievement. This placing earnt the girls a trip to Wellington where the top 16 teams in New Zealand face up at Nationals in October.

Wishing our girls the best of luck for this.