On Wednesday the 3rd of April, the whole school celebrated the achievements of our athletes and teams.

Over the course of the summer, we witnessed not only displays of outstanding talent across various sports but also a remarkable demonstration of camaraderie, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. Each game, each match, each competition spoke volumes about the character and determination of our young athletes.

We will begin with our newly selected National representatives and Honours Awards recipients before moving on to Summer Tournament Week. Our first set of National representatives have been selected in Water Polo, where HBHS has four students and one coach selected to the New Zealand Under 16 team that will compete in the Under 16 World Championships in Malta in June this year. This is the strongest representation by school in the squad with the students selected being Cole Schmidt, Max Mayall, Jacob Keightley, and Aidan Waters. This is the first time New Zealand has sent a team to this event, and we wish them well.

Continuing with Water Polo, our 2024 Captain of Sport, Samuel Keightley, is currently on tour with the New Zealand Under 18 team in Barcelona. The team is playing a number of professional club and international sides as they prepare for their World Championships in Argentina later this year.

In Basketball, Year 13, Te Tatau Strother has been selected in the New Zealand Junior Tall Blacks (Under 18) squad in preparation for the Asian games later in the year. The squad is still in wider operation with the group of 18 due to be cut to 12 in June. The selected squad will travel to Amman in Jordan to compete in the FIBA Asian Games in September of this year and we sincerely hope that Te Tatau is in it when it does.

At the conclusion of the MAADI Cup, there were representative crews announced which we are strongly represented in. Last year, Will Milne was a part of the NZ Under 19 team that rowed the World Championships in Paris. This years NZ Under 19 wider squad has been announced, with Will Milne, Zach Brownlee, Dylan McConnell, and Ethan Steyn all named.

There were also crews named for the North versus South rowing regatta with Year 12s Jack Ramsey and Corben Campbell named to compete.

In badminton news, Year 12 student Raphael Deloy was selected to represent the New Zealand Senior Mens side at the Oceania Championships despite being only 16. Since then, Raphael has travelled to Victoria, where he was able to compete for New Zealand, in the process earning a school Honours Cap, for representing New Zealand at the highest level. In recent news, Raphael played in the New Zealand Men's Badminton tour of the Manawatu, where he won both his singles and doubles matches.

Our latest New Zealand Representatives have just come back from representing New Zealand at the Oceania Cross Country Mountain Biking Championships which were held in Mt Cotton, which is south of Brisbane, just last week. Year 12 James Climo was selected in the Under 17 team, while Fletcher Adams raced in the Under 19 division. Fletcher was able to win this division, which is a testament to his ability while racing boys much older than he is. Fletcher was joined on the podium by his brother, and Old Boy, Hunter Adams, who finished in third place. For this achievement, Fletcher has been awarded an Honours Cap for representing New Zealand. 

First Team Representative Badges: Cricket and Rowing

In rowing, a badge is earned by rowing for a season in the Under 18 Eight at both NISS and NZSS. The following boys have earned their first team badge this season: Corben Campbell, Jack Ramsey, Wynston Roberts, and Ryan Ollington.

In cricket, a badge is earned by playing 20 games for the 1st XI Cricket side. The following boys have earned their first team badge: Taine Grover, Blake Evans, Cullen Crowe, Jackson Botherway, and Jonah Funnell. 

First Team Honours Caps: Cricket and Rowing

A First Team Cap is earned in rowing by being a member of the Under 18 Eight at both NISS and NZSS levels for two years. The following boys have earned their honours caps: Zachary Brownlee, Jonty Mackintosh, Dylan McConnell, and Ethan Steyn.

Members of the 1st XI Cricket side earn their Honours Cap after playing 40 games for the team. The following boys have earned their Honours Caps: Tom Sulzberger, Reid Bishop, Sam Rutter, and Ryan Metcalfe.

Finally, a special mention must be made of Year 13 student, Lucky Reddy. The bar to reach for an Honours Cap in cricket is reasonably difficult at 40 games, with this expected to be reached over two seasons. Lucky has managed to play a massive 100 games for our 1st XI Cricket side, after making his debut as a Year 9 student.

Summer Tournament Week 2024:

We now move on to some of our medal winners over the course of summer tournament week. We will begin with our Senior Premier Water Polo team who played the North Island Secondary Schools Championships in Auckland. They breezed through pool play, with a strong win over 2022 National Champions, Rangitoto College, the highlight. Winning their pool put them in a quarter final against Rosmini College who they also comfortably beat. Whenever you play a semi-final the opposition is bound to be strong and this was the case when we played last year's National Champions, who were unbeaten this season, Sacred Heart, in their own pool, with their boarding house down to support. The pre-match atmosphere was electric which helped our boys to come out firing with a 5-0 first quarter lead. Our defence through the remainder of the game was immense, with Cole Schmidt a brick wall in goal. We won the game, restricting Sacred Heart to their lowest goal tally in over ten years. Unfortunately the boys couldn’t quite match their dominant form in the final, where we lost to a strong Tauranga Boys’ side. Second place is still a fantastic accomplishment and the players are excited about their National Championships in the upcoming school holidays. The team is: Cole Schmidt, Sam Ballantyne, Conal Martin, Sam Mayo, Miles Julian, Taylor Crouch, Sam Keightley, Max Mayall, Zachary Martin, Jacob Keightley, Aidan Waters, Nate Clarke, and Lewis Mayo.

Junior Colts Cricket:

Our Colts Cricket side were down in Palmerston North at the Junior Gillette Cup which was to be the last of its kind. The tournament kicked off with a bang as we faced Christchurch Boys' on the opening day. We posted a competitive total of 154 and then showcased our bowling prowess, dismissing them for a mere 73 runs. It was a statement of intent from our team, setting the tone for the battles ahead.

Day two brought a clash with Whanganui Collegiate, where we unleashed our batsmen. Led by the brilliance of Aditya Gulla, who notched an impressive 113 not out, and Chris Pradeep's explosive 83 off just 75 balls, we set a formidable target of 259 for 2. Arjun Taneja’s bowling masterclass further solidified our dominance, taking five wickets for a mere 15 runs. The victory was comprehensive.

As the tournament progressed, each match brought its own challenges and triumphs. On the third day, we faced off against Wellington College in a match that felt like a final. Despite a strong start with the bat, we found ourselves under pressure towards the end of our innings. Wellington's resilience saw them snatch victory in a thrilling last-over finish.

Day four saw us bounce back, securing a hard-fought win over Auckland Grammar. Aditya Gulla once again showcased his class with a well-earned half-century, while Hudson, our captain, led the charge with his bowling, dismantling the opposition's batting lineup.

By day five, saw the team match up with Waitaki Boys. Arjun had another fiery spell with the ball, earning him another five-wicket haul, setting the stage for a convincing victory.

As the dust settled on the tournament, members of the team were given individual accolades. Aditya, Chris, and Jai emerged as the top run-scorers, while Arjun's exceptional bowling earned him the title of the tournament's leading wicket-taker. Aditya secured the tournament MVP, which is a fantastic achievement as a result of his superb performances. Finally, amidst the celebrations, we couldn't overlook the unsung heroes, like Daniel MacDonald, whose selfless contributions and living of our school's values made him our team MVP.

The boys then backed this up by coming back to Hamilton to compete in the Seddon Cup final, which was played at Bay Oval over in Tauranga against Tauranga Boys. The Seddon Cup is a new tournament which has been formed for schools of the central North Island by the Seddon Cricket club, to get more high quality games for players. The team went through the entire competition strongly, beating a range of top quality cricketing schools including: St Peter's, Francis Douglas Memorial College, New Plymouth Boys', as well as Tauranga Boys’ in both pool play and the final to secure this championship. The team is: Aditya Gulla, Cooper Haeata, Chris Pradeep, Jai Poonia, Daniel Young, Harn Singh, Hudson Clarke, Jacob Otto, Joseph Challis, Murphy Preston, Arjun Taneja, and Daniel Macdonald.

Open Water Swimming:

We had three students competing in the National Championships over in Rotorua at the Blue Lakes. Year 10 Simiosi Tukia, swimming in the junior age group, won a National title in the 500m event as well as silver in the 1km swim. Year 11 Caign Boonen, swimming as an intermediate, earned a bronze medal in the 1km and Deputy Head Prefect Kinnon Broekhuizen won a bronze medal in the senior 3.5km event. Kinnon received his honours badge for finishing third in the country. 

Waka Ama:

In Waka Ama, this year's National championships saw more than 2300 students from 130 schools come to compete at Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua. HBHS had two teams taking part in this competition.

The HBHS Wairere team had a very successful campaign in which they placed in the following races:

Bronze medal in the A Division, 12 person waka team combined with HGHS

Gold medal in the A Division, 6 person waka, 500 Mts turns race

These same students will be competing at the Waka Ama World Sprints Championship in Hilo, Hawaii in August this year. The following boys received their Honours badges for their National medals:

Tyler Keung, Titan Nin-Hongara, Noah Borell-Anderson, Salanoa Gray, Manaia Davis, and Rongomatane Smith. 

Mountain Biking:

The New Zealand Secondary School Mountain Biking Championships were also held in Rotorua where we had a strong team of competitors across a range of events. Our standout results came in the cross country, where Year 12 James Climo won the Under 17 event and Fletcher Adams, also in Year 12, won the Under 20 event. The boys then teamed up with Riley Hartgill to compete in the Under 20 team event where they won gold as the best team.

The following boys received their National Medallist Honours badges.: Riley Hartgill, James Climo, and Fletcher Adams.