The Southern Regional Primary and Intermediate Schools Tennis Championships were held last Friday (12th November) at the Edgar Centre. Columba College had two students represent the school at the champs, and the school is extremely impressed with their efforts.

The Southern Region Primary and Intermediate Schools Tennis Championships took place on Friday 12 November at the Edgar Centre. Forty eight children from around the Southern Region (South Canterbury down to Southland) competed for a chance to play at the South Island Primary and Intermediate Schools Championship in Timaru, scheduled for 22 -23 November. 

Columba Year 8 student, Alice Porter qualified for this event by winning the Intermediate Grade at the Otago Schools Championships recently. Alice had a tough game first up against Geraldine High School's Tahlea Bradshaw, who went on to place 4th overall in the competition. Alice faced some tough games across the day, and although she was unable to secure a podium finish this time round, she had some great battles on court and greatly enjoyed her day of competition.

Columba's Bilal Ahmad played in the Year 6 and Under grade, and was top seed going into the competition. He had a couple of straight forward wins 4-1 4-0 and 4-0 4-0, but faced a tough challenge in the final by unseeded Remarkables Primary School student Lukas Necas. Bilal prevailed 5-4(3), 4-2, and in doing so won the Southern Region title and qualified for the South Island Championships in Timaru later this month. What a great effort!

Congratulations to Bilal and Alice. We are incredibly proud of your performance, and wish you well, Bilal, as you take on the best of the South Island in a couple of weeks time. The future of tennis is certainly looking bright at Columba College!