The Sports Council had their first meeting for the year this week.

Columba College has an excellent reputation for sport throughout New Zealand and it is one that is rightly earned. We currently offer our students 32 sports which is impressive for a school of our size and can claim an 85% participation rate. This is phenomenal when you consider that the average rate for girls' participation in the Otago Region is 65% and that, nationally, girls' participation is at 55%. To maintain this, the Sports Council is committed to supporting new initiatives in the College and works hard to raise funds to benefit our students.  

We would like to thank Mr Pete Turner for his six years as Chairman and welcome Mr Brent Davies as his replacement. Mr Turner has worked to support Miss Dayna Turnbull in her role as Director of Sport and has made a tremendous difference to the culture around sport at Columba College.

Coming up this year, we are excited to announce that the Sports Gala Dinner will be held on the 19th of June. We are still looking for auction and raffle prizes for this event - please contact Mrs Sherrie LaHood here if you can help with this. Following the Gala Dinner, the always popular Golf Day is scheduled for the 18th of September.

Projects for this year include offering Elite Fitness sessions for students and starting a Coaching Development programme for our student coaches. Elite Fitness sessions are held on Thursday mornings between 6:45-7:45 am in Terms 1 and 4 (students should meet in the Sports Centre). Students can contact Miss Dayna Turnbull here for further information. Miss Turnbull is currently investigating the most impactful ways to offer support and development to our student coaches. We want to acknowledge the time and effort they expend and provide them with greater opportunities to develop their own skills while they are providing such a valuable service to the College.

As the weather is cooling down, please remember that the Sports Council have Columba beanies and fleece blankets for sale at the office. These are a particularly stylish way to show your support for our students when cheering them on from the sidelines. They also make great presents for family and friends!

We would also like to extend a very warm welcome to the whole Columba College community. If there are any caregivers who would like to join the Council and/or help with fundraising and event organisation, please contact Miss Dayna Turnbull here to find out more. 

Lastly - we wish the best of luck to all the teams involved in summer sports week at the end of this month!