It has been great to have a full term of sport and to finish a full season of our winter competitions.

Well done to all the students that have been involved in a team or individual sport this year and please let us know if you have any achievements you would love to share with our school community. This term we can also finally celebrate winter tournament week as it has been a long time coming. We had students representing our school at Junior & Senior Basketball, Senior Netball, Rugby League, Equestrian, and Cycling over the week. Congratulations to our Senior Girls Basketball team that has qualified for the Senior AA Premierships Basketball Nationals in Palmerston North from 3rd-8th October.

EQUESTRIAN SISS - McLeans Island

The KHS equestrian students had a great week for their first SISS competition at Mcleans Island. Hannah Johnston (yr 12), Charlie Borg (yr 12), and Loretta Woolford (yr 10) competed in dressage, arena eventing, show jumping, and show hunter during the week and came home with ribbons.

Hannah and her horse Harley earned a 3rd in dressage and 1st in arena eventing. Loretta and her horse Greta earned a 4th in arena eventing and 3rd in showjumping. It was a successful week and the girls are looking forward to competing again next year.

SKODA CYCLING SOUTHERN TOUR - Blenheim

Well done to Wolf Pene (yr 12) who represented our school in the Southern Tour in Blenheim during tournament week. Wolf placed 2nd in Criterium, 3rd in Time Trial, 4th in Road Race, and 5th in Hill Climb. He is now preparing for the Skoda South Island and National School Track Championships, to be held in Invercargill in the school holidays. We wish him all the best with his future races. 

RUGBY LEAGUE NATIONALS - Rotorua

As part of tournament week, Kaiapoi High School combined with Rangiora HS and Avonside Girls to compete in the inaugural Girls Secondary Schools' Rugby League Nationals in Rotorua. The girls grew and developed over the 5-day Tournament. The results didn't go their way, but they were consistently positive and represented themselves and their schools with pride. At the Award Ceremony, our team Te Ōraka Kairangi won Team of the Tournament. This was awarded to the team who had earned the highest score collated from the four games. Each team was scored out of 10 points per game played, by the match officials. This was a great achievement and a real credit to all the players, coaches, and management team for their effort over the week. Well done to you all.

BASKETBALL SISS SENIORS GIRLS & BOYS - Invercargill

Wow, what a week of Basketball at the Senior Tournament in Invercargill, with our girls having a strong performance playing RHS in their semi-final, going down by just 78-72. This put them into the 3/4th playoff v Waimea, which was a close battle, losing by just 78-77 to finish 4th. An amazing tournament for our girls, giving them a spot at Nationals which is a first for a KHS girls team - history made! This team will now travel to Palmerston North the first week of the school holidays for Nationals, along with 24 other girls and boys teams throughout NZ.

Our boys also had a great tournament, finishing 11th overall, which was a great result. They played eight games over the four days with four wins and four losses, with some tough battles but finishing with their heads held high. Finishing in the top half of the boys' tournament, including finishing higher than a number of teams from the Thompson Whelan Trophy, was a great reward for the boys, their coaches, and the management team. Both teams have represented our school outstandingly and we couldn't have been prouder of the improvement and the support of each other throughout the tournament.

BASKETBALL SISS JUNIOR GIRLS + BOYS TOURNAMENT - Nelson

It was another great week for our Junior Basketball teams in Nelson. Our girls finished the tournament 3rd, after winning against Marlborough in a great game. The junior girls have been a very enthusiastic and energetic team and have just kept improving as a team all season. Finishing 3rd is the best result for a KHS Junior girls team for a very long time. 

Our boys had some really tight games throughout the tournament, with games coming down to the wire and the end result not going their way, which put them into the 7th-8th playoff. They came away with the win against Christchurch Boys, finishing 7th overall. This team showed so much potential over the week, which was a real credit to them all. Thank you to our student referees, Josh Watt and Kacey McAllister, who travelled with the teams.

NETBALL SISS SENIOR TOURNAMENT - Timaru

Our Senior A Netball team took part in the SISS Netball Tournament held in Timaru. We had the opportunity to move up from B Grade due to a team withdrawal, which was going to be a big ask being seeded as team 32, but with the up-side of playing indoors, they took the challenge head-on. The first two pool games were tough, but moving into the playoffs, the team had some great wins and a couple of close losses. Coming in at team 32 and finishing 24th was a great result. Such an awesome week of Netball and the team has safely secured their spot in the A grade for 2023 so it was all worth it!

NETBALL SISS JUNIOR TOURNAMENT - Christchurch

We had our years 9A + 10A teams playing in this tournament during the July school holidays. The weather definitely did not play its part at this year's junior tournament, as the girls had all seasons over the three days, which I'm sure will leave lasting memories. Both teams had some close games, with the results easily going either way. The teams showed great commitment, played well as a team, while having fun, and giving it their all out on the court. They all represented KHS proudly and well done to them all. Thank you to our student Umpires, Estelle Herriott and Lucy Paterson, that were with these teams.

CANOE POLO SISS TOURNAMENT - Oamaru

This is the first time we have had a team enter this event and it was a great effort by our small team of five. They competed strongly, not getting winning results, but they were very competitive on the water. It was a great experience for them all. We are keen to keep this sport growing, so if you are interested in having a go, please see the sports office. Term 4 is the best time as we still have our yr 13 students that have lots of experience and are great at helping our beginners out on the water.

NETBALL CLUB COMPETITION 

We have had six teams playing in the North Canterbury competition on Saturdays at MainPower stadium. CONGRATULATIONS to KHS Team 1 that made it through to the finals of the Senior grade. This team had an undefeated second round of the competition, but unfortunately did not come away with the win. We had Team 2 and Team 5 making it through to the semi-finals, with the final result on the whistle also not going their way. This was a great effort by those teams to have gotten that far. Teams 3, 4 & 6 showed determination to work hard as a team, have fun, and keep improving with every game. This has been a real credit to them all. Our teams have represented KHS Netball with pride and they should all be proud of the season they have had. The final placings don't always show how much as a player you have improved or grown as a team. We hope all these students have all enjoyed their Netball season and that we will hopefully see them all back next season.

RUGBY U16 BOYS CLUB COMPETITION

Our boys finished the season in the Canterbury Country combined competition playing Oxford and coming away with a close win 38-36, with a last-minute try to seal the game. We have been so proud of the commitment these boys have all given this season. With it being our first year as KHS Rugby, it hasn't been easy for them all, with some big results not going our way, but they have all stuck together and finished the season as a team, which is a real credit to them all. 

RUGBY GIRLS - Miles Toyota Cup

This season we also had our first KHS Girls Rugby team playing in the Miles Toyota Cup on Wednesdays. We finished the season 5th, with our last game being played at RHS. What a great game for all the girls to finish the season with, they tackled their hearts out the whole game. We have come a long way from the start of the season to finish strongly with a great team effort, great tries, and a great result 44-10. This team has lots of skilled players with lots of potential. It was good to be able to play locally, with lots of support on the sideline for both teams. 

RUGBY BOYS MT HUTT EXCHANGE

This term we had the chance to have a Boys XV Rugby Team to play Mt Hutt College in a school exchange over two games, home and away. We had a very keen team of boys who we took to Methven for the first game. Mt Hutt was a very skilled team that had been playing together for some time, with this being our first game together. We came away from the game with the boys keen to learn our school haka to perform in front of their peers. The second game of the exchange was at home on the backfield in front of a large enthusiastic crowd of students, staff, and families.

The boys worked hard to learn our school haka during tutor time and intervals and it was great to have a sideline of support as the team returned our haka back to Mt Hutt. Well done to the boys, the results from both games didn't go our way, but the teamwork and the comradery that came from them all, with the pride they showed to put on the KHS Rugby jersey and to be so excited to represent our school at the exchange, made it all worthwhile for everyone involved. These boys can be very proud of the team culture they created in the short time they had been together as a team. 

BASKETBALL 

Basketball continues to be popular and great to see the team numbers continually growing and especially with the Friday night social competition, which gives students the opportunity to play with their mates. With a total of 16 teams, we had eight teams playing in finals, with six of these teams finishing 1st in their grades. We have seen some great games and the commitment from the students each week has been amazing.
Congratulations to the following teams who winners of their grades:
Boys Senior Red
Boys Junior White
Boys Yr 9 Teal
Girls Senior Red
Girls Junior A
Girls Intermediate B

We are very thankful to our student referees who refereed 10 home games weekly. This required 20 referees, which is a big ask. A big thank you also to our coaches and managers who are not just staff, but also students and parents that have helped to get our teams out on the courts for both home and away games.

The Intermediate Girls' team played in the premier grade on Friday night, winning the competition. Our Senior Boys and Girls teams competed in the Thompson Whelan Trophy competition on Tuesday nights, both teams moved up into Div 1 from their results last year. This has been a step up for these teams and they competed strongly, with our girls finishing 3rd. It has been great to see the support these teams get, especially at the home games. These teams also competed at the SISS Tournaments during Winter tournament week.

BASKETBALL - Saturday Club Competition 

Well done to this bunch of boys, they have had a great season, and to get through to the finals of the U15A Club Basketball competition was a huge effort. The final result didn't go their way, but they can all hold their heads high and feel proud of the season they have had. Well done boys we are very proud of you. Thank you to Coach Alex Taylor, it has been great having one of our own students giving back and he did a great job. 

FOOTBALL - Wednesday Competition

After a few years without a Football team, we had a group of students which was largely a social group of year 12s and a few junior students as well. This team started out very social, but with the grading of the teams, they did get quite competitive. This resulted in a few close games and a couple of bigger scores, which didn't put them off, and all in all it was fantastic to have this team out playing and having fun. 

BADMINTON - Wednesday Competiton

We have had two Badminton teams competing in the Wednesday competition. It was great to have a junior boys team and for most of them, it was a chance to try a new sport. This was the same for our girls' team, with the exception of Lili & Ezri Batterbury, who have both been playing for school for a few years and were keen to help mentor the new players. Both teams have had a great season, with the boys making it through to the semi-finals and finishing 3rd in their grade and the girls making it to the finals undefeated, but unfortunately not coming away with the win, finishing 2nd in their grade. Well done to both teams, you have had a great season.

HOCKEY BOYS - Monday Competition

Our Boys' Hockey team finished 3rd in their competition, with a great win to finish the season. This team just kept improving with every game, which was a real credit to the more experienced players that helped guide the team and grow the confidence of those around them to finish the season strongly. Well done to you all.

HOCKEY GIRLS - Wednesday Competition

Our Girls' Hockey team has had a great season this year, finishing 3rd in a close playoff game. The team has a mix of year groups and our senior players have offered fantastic support to our junior players, which is exciting for the future as they continue to keep improving and playing well as a team.

KORFBALL 

Korfball is continuing to grow for us as a new sport at school. We have had a team continue to play through the Winter season on Sundays and this team finished 3rd, which was a great result and especially with the majority of our team still being juniors. We had a senior team just compete in the SISS Tournament held at Pioneer Stadium over two days and this team played extremely well, finishing 4th out of the 16 teams, which was a great effort and a really good experience for everyone. Our junior team will compete in their SISS Tournament at the end of October. This game is definitely growing in interest and it is one sport that is a mixed team game. It is great seeing the students working well together and the growing list of students that are keen to take part in term 4.

POOL IN SCHOOLS 

Each Wednesday we have a keen group of students that take part in the Pool in Schools programme at the Kaiapoi Working Men's Club. There is some great competition and games being played and we are very thankful for this opportunity for our students.

SKI CHAMPS

Congratulations to Molly McKinney who represented our school at the Canterbury Secondary Schools' Ski Champs at Mt Hutt under not-so-good conditions. Molly finished with an awesome result, 5th out of 69 girls which is amazing. She also finished 12th overall out of 142 boys/girls that competed on the day. Molly is only year 10 and competed in the open grade. Well done Molly, that was an awesome achievement. 

To our year 13 students that have been involved in sport at KHS, we thank you all for the contribution you have given to your chosen sports and teams. We wish you all the best for the future and, hopefully, we see you around the sports grounds in years to come.

We are very grateful to the large number of coaches and managers that we have with each of our teams. We have teachers, staff, parents, and members of our community involved with our teams and we definitely could not offer all of these sporting opportunities without your help.