The MAC Mixed 1st XI Hockey team competed in the Kate Trolove Cup in Timaru last week.
SPORTS
Sports Co-ordinator —
Sports Calendar: Term 3, 2024
The term calendar is an overview of the sports events that are happening this term. If you have any questions about any upcoming events, please come and see Laura, Claire and Di at the Sports Hub or email us at: sports@mtaspiring.school.nz
Term 3
19/20 September - Trinity College Exchange (Year 7/8)
24-26 September - Koru Games - Christchurch (Year 7/8)
7-10 October - NZSS Mountain Bike Championships - Christchurch
Extra information
The following websites / pages have detailed information regarding sport and competition the latest updates regarding school sport:
During our end of year awards ceremonies, we like to recognise and celebrate our Mount Aspiring College students who have gained a national or an international sporting achievement over the past year.
Please click on the link below and fill out the form if you/your child has gained a national or an international sporting achievement(s) between November 2023 - October 2024: Application Form
Please complete this form by Sunday 15 September. We appreciate that there are some national events being held after that date (over the school holidays). The form will remain open for those students to complete until Sunday 13 October.
ROWING
With summertime quickly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about rowing! Please register your interest to attend the Introduction to Rowing 'Learn to Row' 6 week programme at: wanakarowingclub@gmail.com
In week 10 this term we will be holding a 'Give rowing a go erg session' in the Old Performance Room at lunchtime on Monday 23, Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 September. Come along and give it a go and meet our other rowers!
Look forward to seeing you then.
Any rowing related questions you can email Mrs Rickard rickarda@mtaspiring.school.nz or go to the MAC Gym and have a chat with Mr Bruce who is one of our volunteer rowing coaches.
RUGBY
Moving toward 2025 Rugby season … and beyond
A big thank you to our rugby whānau/parent community who attended Monday night’s workshop. It was a well attended evening - great to see so many willing to get involved in mapping out our strategic plan for the future of rugby here at MAC.
We love to hear what our MAC students have been up to in the sporting arena. Please keep us up to date with any news at sports@mtaspiring.school.nz.
HOCKEY
Last week the MAC Mixed 1st XI Hockey team competed in the Kate Trolove Cup in Timaru. The MAC mixed hockey team headed to tournament with high expectations, after winning the tournament for the last two years and also winning the Central Otago competition this year.
They played really well with wins against Mountain view, Trinity and Mackenzie College in pool play. They had a goal differential of 53 after the pool game with most of the team getting on the scoreboard. They were looking at a much closer game in the quarterfinals against Nayland College who had some quality individuals. Superior team play prevailed and MAC managed to take the victory 10 - 2.
On to the semifinals against Maruawai College (formerly Gore High) which was a good challenge. They are a really good team so it was a really tight game. They managed to get a goal in the first quarter and held that for most of the game. They had all the momentum in the second half and with 5 mins to go they scored to make it 1 - 1. We were fortunate to take the win 2 - 1 on penalties.
The final was against our big rivals Wakatipu and after a very close game we ended up going down 1 nil. It was a great game and congratulations to Wakatipu.
Last week the 1st XI Boys Football team headed to Invercargill to compete in the National Linwood Tournament.
They started their tournament in windy Invercargill very well, with 3 wins from 3 in pool play.
4-0 vs Central Southland College
2-0 vs St Kevin's
4-0 vs Cromwell College
The boys came up against a very strong Papanui High School in the final pool game in what was essentially a quarterfinal. Unfortunately the boys couldn't hold their winning streak and had a really tight 2-0 loss. Papanui scored in the last minute to make it 2, as MAC pushed hard to find a goal. The boys were gutted, but lifted themselves to beat Roncalli College 2-1.
Their final game playing off for 5th and 6th had them face off against Trident College from Whakatane, and after a tight game with quite a few goals on the scoreboard, they went down 5:4 for a solid 6th place finish overall out of 20 teams.
FOOTBALL - SENIOR GIRLS
Last week the Girls 1st XI Football team travelled to Dunedin to compete in the Lotto Sportswear Tournament. They had a fantastic week and came away with the trophy! See their record of their games below:
Mt Aspiring College vs Southland Girls
Score 3-0 (MAC)
This morning's game was set to be a tight match, however as a team we were strong on defence and held our own in the attacking zone, this resulted in the final score of a 3-0 finish to MAC. As a team we celebrated the win but took it as a learning opportunity to reflect back on. There were definitely some things we knew we could switch up for our upcoming game against Logan Park. Some of these were our communication and keeping up our intensity until the end. This morning's game was a great warmup for the continuing tournament and we were very happy with the result.
Game 2
Mt Aspiring College vs Logan Park
Score 5-0 (MAC)
The team was pumped for our game against Logan Park which commenced this afternoon. Throughout the game it was good to see all the options that were being offered and the opportunity of many shots being taken. We dominated the possession but once again struggled with communication. Improving communication is a goal we have set for our remaining games. This is because we know how positive the influence of good communication is on the pitch. Overall we felt that our game against Logan Park was successful but not without its challenges. Once again we can reflect on our gameplay and hopefully continue to improve throughout the tournament.
In conclusion, day one of the Lotto Sportswear tournament was very successful for MAC, there are definitely some improvements we can make but we are ecstatic about the results from today and psyched for the upcoming tournament.
Game 3
Mt Aspiring College vs Fiordland
Score 10-0 (MAC)
This afternoon we were feeling energised and pumped up for our game against Fiordland after a bye in the morning. We had our usual plan of going out strong to apply pressure and hopefully score some goals. This was successful with seven goals to MAC by halftime. Because of the significant lead we felt confident and comfortable going into the second half. There were heaps of opportunities at shots, passes and plays over the remainder of the game. Although there were still tense moments in the defence zone including a penalty shot. In conclusion our 3rd game of the tournament was highly successful with the final result of 10-0 going to MAC. The team is resting and relaxing in anticipation of a tight game tomorrow against Marian College.
Game 4
Mt Aspiring College vs Marion College
Score 2-2 (MAC)
Excitement and stress levels were high upcoming our Marion College match this morning. MAC was determined to win as this would put us through to quarter finals or so we thought. It was a tough hard fought match with an impressive goal scored by Renee putting us at a 1-0 lead at halftime. The team overall played good football, with great passes, shots and pressure. We scored another goal bumping the score up to 2-0, however this lead was not made to last. From two corner kicks Marion upped the intensity which brought us to a 2-2 tie. We continued fighting for another goal and keeping up defence to prevent further gain from the Marion team. When the final whistle blew the score was a tie but the outcome was a win. As we had scored the most goals of any team in our pool it meant we became the winners of the game and the overall winners of our pool. This led us into our next game where we were planning to play Christchurch girls for a spot in semis, however much to our excitement a change had been made to the competition allowing us to automatically progress into the semi finals. This was our afternoon game against Bethlehem College.
Game 5
Mt Aspiring College vs Bethlehem College
Score 3-0 (MAC)
Although thrilled about our progression to semis, the pressure was felt by all players. We felt fixated on the finals, we knew this would be a challenging game and wanted to go out there and play our best football. We aimed to go out hard from the start putting pressure on the opposing team this resulted in a 2-0 score by halftime and a further goal in the second half putting us at 3-0 for a finishing score. Throughout the game the team worked really well, of course errors were made and stressful moments occurred but we had a real team focus on calm. Something we mentioned was the three c’s; confidence, composure and communication. As a team we felt we implemented these skills very effectively. To conclude, we are stoked about our progression to the finals and to have the opportunity to play in the Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow afternoon. We hope for a good result tomorrow but no matter what we are proud of the effort we have put into the tournament so far.
Game 6 (finals!!!)
Mt Aspiring College vs Otago Girls
Score 0-0 (MAC)
The team was exhilarated about the opportunity of playing in the Forsyth Barr Stadium earlier this afternoon, nerves were as you can imagine very present everyone was nervous. We knew Otago Girls would be hard to beat, but we felt up to the challenge. Although we obviously wanted to win this game no matter what we were extremely proud of the team for how far we had gotten so far. At the beginning of the game there were many close calls with dominant possession to Otago Girls in our defence zone, however we were able to resist their plays and bring the ball forward into the scoring zone. By halftime the score still remained 0-0. The team was tired but knew that we had to leave it all out on the field. Throughout the second half it was a tight match with both teams determined to break the 0-0 tie. I think something that helped us was remembering the previously mentioned 3 cs. We kept calm, confident and communicated. However, as the final whistle blew the game was still 0-0. This meant that another 2 x 10 minute periods would occur with a small break in-between each. Both teams struggled for a goal within this time - if the score remained unchanged we would have to go into penalty shootouts. After an additional 20 minutes of play it was still a 0-0 score between MAC and Otago Girls so penalty shootouts began. Five players from each team were selected to begin. Everyone watched in anticipation as shots were taken, missed ,scored and saved. A special shoutout to Kate Watson who put her body on the line whilst saving a shot from the opposing team. In the end the game finally finished with a shot from Mia Gemmell which gave us the majority of the points in the penalty shootouts. The team erupted in celebration on the win. Overall we have been so grateful for the opportunity of going to this tournament and for all the experiences along the way. We battled hard for six games throughout the week and came up with the best result we could have hoped for. We are extremely proud of each other and thankful for the help of our Coach Ignacio and our Manager Ainz - we could not have done it without them. Now that wraps up a successful week of football for the MAC Girls XII.
Earlier this week on Thursday 5 September the Mount Aspiring College 1st XI girls football team had the amazing opportunity of playing in the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. This was the finals game in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Lotto Sportswear Tournament. It was a hard-fought match between MAC and Otago Girls High School with many great plays, passes and skills being displayed. However, once the final whistle blew the score was still at a nil tie between the two teams. This resulted in overtime for the match. Once more, both teams battled intensely and exchanged chances for a goal over the next 20 minutes. But the two teams still remained at a scoreless tie. So ultimately the game now had to be decided by a penalty shootout. Each team picked their 5 players and we began. There were impressive saves, powerful shots, and moments of celebration as each of the 10 chosen players took their turn at a penalty shot. With an impressive save from Kate Watson and great shots from Freya Hawker, Caoimhe Heath, Rhian Telfer and Mia Gemmell MAC was able to end the tournament on a win. Overall the team was so grateful for the opportunity of being able to participate in the South Island Secondary Schools Lotto Sportswear Tournament. After battling hard for 6 games throughout the week we came up with the best result we could have hoped for. We are extremely proud of each other and thankful for the help of our coach Ignacio and our Manager Ainsley as we could not have done it without them.
NETBALL
Last week the Netball A team headed to Christchurch in the South Island Secondary Schools Netball Tournament.
In a tough pool the team had a hard game first up facing St Hildas, which they lost 31-20. They worked hard in their second game of the day against a strong Cashmere High School team, and managed to stay close, losing 28-22.
Day 2 saw the team facing Cromwell College, and unfortunately they couldn’t quite do it. They came back from that loss with a fantastic performance against Ashburton College that afternoon, winning 44-28.
On day 3 the team faced Southland Girls High School. They came out firing, played a great game and took a 30-19 win. Later in the day the team came up against a very strong Rangi Ruru team, but they were up for the challenge and came away with a 29-26 win!
Day 4 dawned and the team faced Craighead in their first game. A very tight game led to the teams being in a tie at full time, meaning that overtime had to be played. MAC fought hard and came away with a 29-27 win! The final game of the tournament had the team playing Rolleston College for 21st and 22nd place. The team finished strongly and won the game 24-20, finishing in 21st place overall, out of 96 teams - a great result.
Huge thanks must go to Matz Asberg and Sue Richard for coaching and managing the team all season (a huge job!) and also to Sandra Findlay for travelling with the team as the chief van driver and Teacher in Charge. Also, huge congratulations to Millie East who was one of the players who was ‘Talent Identified’ at the tournament.
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
Congratulations to the following MAC students who achieved outstanding results at the recent Merino Muster - Snow Farm NZ’s annual Worldloppet International cross country race.
Baxter Pollard (Year 13) placed second in the 21km Snow Rake with a time of 55:37:89 and third was Lulu Pettit (Year 13) at 1:01:01:30.
Lulu Pettit and Nico Pettit (Year 11) came first and second respectively in the 21km women's category.
The 14km Double Fleece was won by Year 13 student Daniel Wright in a time of 35:18:17 and Billy Dean (Year 7) placed third with 39:37:67 in the same event.
In the Straggle Muster, Year 10 student Jordan Joachim placed third with a time of 24:49:67.
To top off the day, MAC won the school’s trophy reflecting the amazing efforts of our students competing as team ‘MAC Attack’!
COMMUNITY SPORTS NOTICES
These activities are all run externally (not through MAC), but they are aimed at our students, so we don’t want you to miss out! If you have any questions about the activities listed below, please contact the appropriate club/organiser and they will be able to help you.
MULTISPORT
Early bird registrations for the Challenge Wānaka multi event on Saturday 19 October are open. There is a secondary school category at this event, with opportunities to participate as an individual or team, in a triathlon or duathlon.
Early bird registrations close on Saturday 15 June.
Congratulations to Year 7 student George Tucker who achieved silver at the New Zealand national championships in karting, and has been chosen to represent New Zealand in Italy later this year at the ROK Superfinal.
The ROK Cup Superfinal will be held in October and is the culmination of more than 20 ROK-branded national championships held throughout the world. The event, at the South Garda karting circuit in Lonato, will feature more than 400 participants from over 35 different nations.
Best wishes George for the ROK Superfinal in Italy - everyone at MAC is very proud of you!
