Here are current and upcoming sports notices and events.

What’s on this week:

● On Monday 8 May the Central Otago Senior Basketball Competition starts. MAC has 5 teams entered in this competition - a new school record! We have one boys team and four girls teams, which is awesome. For the next 8 weeks these teams will play a mixture of home and away games against Roxburgh, Dunstan, Whakatipu and Cromwell. A huge thank you to the parents, coaches and teachers for making our participation in this tournament possible.

● Our Years 7 and 8 are underway with their Rippa Rugby training. Teams will be selected by the end of next week and they’ll be working towards the Central Otago Rippa Competition at the start of June. 

Sports Calendar: Term 2,  2023

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 Ignacio and Claire at the Sports Hub or email us at sports@mtaspiring.school.nz

Term 2

8 May:  Central Otago Senior Basketball Competition begins

28 May:  Otago Secondary Schools Swimming Champs - Dunedin

28 May:  Central Lakes Netball Tournament - Year 9/10

1 June:  Central Otago Rippa Rugby Champs - Queenstown

11/12 June:  Otago Secondary School Netball Champs - Dunedin

20 June:  Upper Clutha Swimming Champs - Wānaka

27 June:  Central Otago Primary School Swimming Champs - Wānaka

3-5 July:  SISS Junior Netball Championships - Christchurch

Extra Info: The following websites / pages have detailed information regarding sport and competition the latest updates regarding school sport:

http://www.osssa.org.nz/ (Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association Inc.)

https://www.schoolsportnz.org.nz/ (School Sport New Zealand)

https://sportnz.org.nz/ (Sport New Zealand)

SPORTS NOTICES

Swimming

The Otago Secondary School Swimming Championships are being held in Dunedin on Sunday 28 May. If you are interested in entering, please come and see us at the Sport Hub for more information. 

Rowing

The MAC Gym has been buzzing this week as students were invited to come along to a rowing challenge run by the MAC rowing team in conjunction with the Wānaka Rowing Club. Ergometers were connected to the big screen so students (and teachers) could ‘give it a go’ and race against each other.

If you are interested in participating in the Wānaka Rowing Club ‘Learn to Row’ programme which is running from Saturday 13 May to Sunday 18 June, see the poster below for more information on how to register.

If you have any questions or want more information, please contact Angela Rickard: rickarda@mtaspiring.school.nz

Mountain Biking

The 2023 SKODA National School MTB Championships will be held in Blenheim, hosted by Marlborough MTB Club from 4-7 October. The event will include Enduro, Downhill and Cross Country events.

4 October: Cross Country & Cross Country Relay

5 October: Downhill Day 1 (U13, U14, U15 grades - exact grade split is TBC until entries close) 

6 October: Downhill Day 2 (U16, U17, U20 grades - exact grade split is TBC until entries close) 

7 October: Enduro

This is a parent led/community led event, so parents are responsible for organising transport, accommodation and they are also responsible for their child during the whole event.

If your child is interested in attending this event, please complete this form as soon as possible: Registration Form

Road Cycling

The Otago/Southland Secondary Schools Road Cycling Championships are being held in Invercargill on Tuesday 30 May. The events involved are: Road Race, Individual Time Trial and Team Time Trial (four in a team for team time trial). If you are interested in participating in this event, please come and see us at the Sports Hub for more information.

Hillary Challenge

2023 marks the 23rd year of the Hillary Challenge for Year 11-13 students. The South Island Hillary Challenge event is a 6 hour long, navigation-based challenge that requires the students to traverse the course on foot and mountain bikes. The South Island Challenge is being held in the Geraldine area on 21 May.

No prior experience is necessary, as these challenges are designed to attract students of all levels, so you don’t need a high level of skill and experience to join in and have an awesome time. Teams can choose to be as social, or as competitive as they like. Some basic skills, a little fitness and a 'give it a go' attitude is really all that is needed.

For those students who are more competitive, there is the chance to earn one of the places to compete in the National Hillary Challenge Final later in the year. Here is a video from last years final showing what it is all about 2022 Final.

More info about the 6 hour challenges can be found HERE. If you are keen and interested to be involved in a MAC team this year, please come and see us at the Sports Hub.

SPORTS RESULTS

Sailing

The MAC sailors are on fire, with unprecedented results at the Teams Sailing National Championships during the holidays. The 5 day competition was held in strong gusty easterlies in Algies Bay, Hauraki Gulf. Twenty eight teams from high schools around New Zealand competed in the event.

MAC's "mixed team" consisting of Melia Brett, Otis Murphy, Tasmin Murphy, Thomas Jurczyluk, Oli Wyeth, Nick Heiler, captained by Sebastian Rhind, finished 2nd in the silver fleet, representing an 11 place gain on previous performances. The team is now ranked 12th in the country.

The brand new MAC Girls Team of Mabel North, Laura Watkins, Anataia White, Madison Smith, Imogen Nisbet, Janie Holbrook, captained by Erica Hudson, debuted in 4th place in the female-only category, narrowly missing out on qualifying for a trip to Sydney.

Proud coach Lily Grimshaw, attributed the huge gains to team spirit and commitment to training, plus a great support network from parents and the Wānaka Yacht Club

Team Manager Roger North said that the success was part of a tidal wave of enthusiasm at the Wānaka Yacht Club. "The Club wholeheartedly supports youth sailing and is rapidly expanding its fleet and its weekly opportunities. We're also really lucky to have such high quality coaching. Watch this space; next season will be huge. We aim to keep it fun and affordable, and encourage anyone who wants to get into sailing to not miss out. The whole team are extremely grateful to Grassroots Trust Central for their financial help towards the Nationals - the absolute highlight of our year."

Mountain Biking

On Wednesday this week the MAC Cross Country Mountain Bike Champs were held at Deans Bank. We had a great turnout with over 50 students competing in the 12km event. A massive thank you to Lincoln Bruce for organising and running the event, and also to all of the teachers and parents who gave up their time to help on the day - thank you!

Results:

Overall Champions - Female: Ruby Smith / Male: Tom Sides

Senior Boys (Yr 11-13)

1. Tom Sides  2. Kynan Marsh. 3. Carter Sidwell

Senior Girls (Yr 11-13)

1. Lulu Pettit. 2. Emily Schmidt

Junior Boys (Yr 9/10)

1. Jack Sides. 2. Tarn Currie. 3. Arnaud Mackenzie

Junior Girls (Yr 9/10) 

1. Ruby Smith. 2. Nico Pettit. 3. Belinda Hope

Intermediate Boys (Yr 7/8) 

1. Theo Taylor. 2. Oscar Adams. 3. Toby Hartnell

Intermediate Girls (Yr 7/8) 

1. Eva Small. 2. Olive Woolley. 3. Paige Boomsma