All three of Columba's hockey teams made finals for the Dunedin Secondary School Competition. First XI Senior A, Second XI Colts and Third XI Renegades all finished top two in their divisions throughout the season and progressed through to the big dance held on Monday evening.

It was a cold and icy evening down at the McMillan Turf beginning at 5.40pm, many braved the conditions and wrapped up to watch our athletes perform. Showing their support by wearing their School Blazer, many Columba students stood sideline, cheering on their classmates aiming to finish the hockey season on a high. 

Division 3

The Columba 3rd XI Renegades has had a progressive season. Starting off as a rag-tag group running after the ball and slowly developing into a team relying on structure and team work. The 3rd XI finished the round robin in second place which led them into the finals versus St Hilda's Year 10. The final was hotly contested, with much back and forth. Columba had the upper hand with multiple shots on goal from field play but, unfortunately, failed to convert any. However, St Hilda's was able to convert two penalty corners into goals, allowing them to take the game 2 - 0. The Columba girls showed great spirit and played their hearts out. Thanks to coach Mr Chambers and to all players for their commitment throughout this great season, well done.

Division 2

Coached by Ant Lobb and Victoria Kurtovich it has been a dream season for our Colts Team who were unbeaten all season with 10 wins and 1 draw. They finished top of the division scoring a mammoth 92 goals and conceding only 4.

They finished their season with a gruelling 2-1 win. This talented team had a blinder first half keeping St Hilda's scoreless, they continued to play strong for 3/4 of the second half before letting their opposition sneak in a goal with 4 minutes to play. Knowing they needed to push - St Hilda's upped the pressure aiming to gain an equaliser but the Columba Colts held their nerve until the final whistle blew and the game was won!  

Division 1

All spectators had waited eagerly in anticipation for the match up of the evening. Having played two fairly evenly contested games throughout the season and recently finishing on a 1-1 draw at the Quad exchange, the competition was fierce between these two sides. The whistle blew at 7.40pm and the entire sideline was filled with spectators from both schools, cheering on their respective star teams. 

St Hilda's took an early lead through Captain Olivia Hall scoring a Penalty Corner. Not long after the opener, Columba got themselves on the scoreboard through an Audrey Hayes strike on goal. A 1-1 tie at halftime kept the fans on their toes before Hilda's again took the lead off yet another PC. Although Columba were not done yet, hitting back relatively quickly off their own PC which saw Jorja Dinan claim the point off a classy deflection. As the clock wound down both teams had opportunities to convert but were unsuccessful and nothing could separate these teams by the end of regulation time. This nail biter was heading for shoot-outs!! 

It couldn't get much closer than this, 5 players selected to go one-on-one with the goalie, with 8 seconds to shoot. It went down to the wire, both teams making 3/3. One of the Columba players was taken out during her shot and was awarded a stroke. Unfortunately luck was not on our side and the attempt on goal was saved by the goalie's stick to give St Hilda's a 4-3 result. The game certainly lived up to the hype, although St Hilda's came out on top it was a thrilling display of Hockey.

Columba First XI now look forward to attending the top tier Federation Cup Tournament held over winter sports week in Auckland 1-9 September. We wish you all the best and look forward to hearing the results!