Our Winter Sports season is now in full swing and great to see so many students that have taken the opportunity to be involved in a sports team or individual sport this term.

Road Race: We had two students compete in the Canterbury Secondary Schools' Road Race held at Hagley Park. Well done to both boys, who finished 1st in their race, Pai Wynyard - 1st Senior Boys, and Jacob Claridge - 1st Para 2km. 

Both of these boys are now preparing for the Canterbury Secondary Schools' Cross Country along with a group of students that are keen to participate in this event. Updated results will be in next month's newsletter. 

Rugby: Our Girl's team has started their season playing in the Miles Toyota Cup competition on Wednesdays at Burnside Park. The last two weeks have been training sessions with Canterbury players and coaches followed by a short game. We start the competition games this week which the girls are all excited about. Thank you to Whaea Danna who is coaching the team again this season. If you are keen to follow our girl's season, make sure you like Kaiapoi High School Rugby on Facebook. 

Netball: We have eight teams playing in the Saturday competition, indoors at Mainpower Stadium. Our Senior A team also plays in the Supernet Competition on a Wednesday. The Yr 9A & Yr 10A teams are preparing themselves for the upcoming South Island Secondary Schools' Tournament which is to be held at Hagley Park in the first week of the school holidays, 3rd-5th July. Good luck to all our teams as they take the courts each week.

Basketball: Both our Senior A Boys & Girls teams play in the Tuesday weekly Thomson Whelan competition and this year the Growcott Trophy for Junior Boys has been introduced. It was great to get a triple header with all teams playing at home on Open Night and our teams appreciate the support they are getting. 

The Saturday Club teams, U17 & U15 Boys, are competing strongly and the boys are all enjoying their basketball. 

Friday Nights are another busy night of basketball with 15 teams. This is always a great chance to get a group of friends together to make up their own teams. We have seen some great games and the commitment from the students each week has been amazing. 

Our Junior Girls play in the Premier competition at Pioneer each week and are playing close and competitive games each week. 

Best of luck to all our teams and a big thank you to the many coaches and managers that help in getting all 19 teams to where they need to be each week. Weekly draws are posted on the Kaiapoi High School Basketball Facebook page. 

Hockey: Our boys' team plays in the Monday competition and they have started the season on a high with some really great wins. The team has been working really well together and it's great to see the boys back from last season, working well with the new players. 

Our girls play in the Wednesday Night competition and have had some close games each week and are building and growing their confidence together as a team each week. We have new junior players in both teams this year, which is exciting for the future of Hockey at our school. 

Football: Our Intermediate Boy's Football team has a group of keen boys that look forward to getting out on the field and playing each week. The team plays in the open grade due to team entry numbers, so the level of competition varies each week, but the boys keep going regardless of score, which is a real credit to them all. 

Badminton: We have three teams playing in the Wednesday Competition and it is great to see so many new students giving a new sport a go. The teams are improving on their game each week and having fun. 

Pool: Wow, the interest in our Pool-in-School programme has gained a lot of interest and it has been great seeing a mix of year groups keen to play each week at the Kaiapoi Workingmens Club. There is some great competition and games being played. 

Archery: We have a big group of keen students taking part and we generally only offer this opportunity during the summer terms 1 & 4 due to the weather elements. These students were keen to continue this term and we have been very lucky to have been able to run all the sessions so far. 

Small Bore Shooting: This is a popular opportunity that takes place at Mainpower Oval in Rangiora each Wednesday. It is great to see new faces, with students signing up for a sport they know very little about. They are all very keen each week. 

Primary Sports Coaches: Thank you to the students that are helping out with the Primary Schools' Winter Sports Competition. Our local schools are always very grateful and you are all doing a great job and we have received some really nice feedback, which is always great to hear. Keep up the great work. 

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 each week and we definitely could not offer all of these sporting opportunities without your invaluable help.