MAC students have been busy competing in adventure races, and sailing, showjumping and swimming events!

Sports Calendar: Term 2, 2025

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, Amy and Di at the Sports Hub or email us at: sports@mtaspiring.school.nz

Term 2

14 May MAC Mountain Bike Cross Country Champs (postponement day 21 May)

15 May CO Cross Country

15 May UC Cross Country

25 May SISS Cross Country

5 June COPSSA Rippa Rugby, Wānaka (postponement day 6 June)

8-9 June OSSA Netball Tournament, Dunedin

14 June NZSS Cross Country, Whangarei

15 June OSSA Swim Champs, Dunedin

16 June CO Girls Football starts

18 June CO Boys Football starts

23 June CO Senior Basketball ends

26 June COPSSA Cross Country, Cromwell (postponement day 27 June)

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

New staff

We would like to introduce our new addition to the team, Amy McClintock, who is our new Sports Coordinator. Amy comes to us with a strong sports background as a sports administrator, coach, and parent manager, she is an awesome addition to our team! 

She will be taking over from Claire Radford as Years 7/8 coordinator, plus some other fun sports in her portfolio to keep her on her toes! 

We also want to take a moment to say goodbye to the amazing Claire who has been an invaluable member of our team for the last two years, at times singlehandedly keeping our department running! We can't thank you enough Claire!  Claire will be spending more time with family and we will miss her organisation skills, dedication and just always being ready to step up and be there for ANYTHING, not to mention all the knowledge in her head!  MAC is extremely grateful for her hard work and the positive impact she has made during her time with us and for always having the students' best interests at heart 

Fortunately for us, we will still see Claire as she will be helping out as parent help whenever she can. 

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to: sports@mtaspiring.school.nz

Sports results

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.

Follow us on the Mount Aspiring College Sports Hub facebook page for sports news and updates.

South Island Secondary School Adventure Racing Championships

This event is a traditional adventure race that encompasses multiple disciplines, including hiking, mountain biking, pack rafting, and navigation, held in the beautiful Kaikoura area. Teams unite to conquer challenges and complete stages back to back. The courses provide a balance between pushing the limits of the strongest teams while remaining achievable for all participants. 

Bound for a Kaikoura adventure, four mates were on a mission of redemption after their past learnings from the book of 'oops' at the MAC Adventure Race. With 12 hours on the clock, they tackled eight gruelling stages including coastineering, biking, rogaining, zip-lining and trekking. Through laughter and the occasional snack break, they navigated flawlessly, emerging as a tight-knit team. With their spirits high and a newfound confidence, they have now set their sights on two more upcoming community races.

An amazing event, with over 400 students competing in 3 hours, 6 hours and 12 hours. It was well organised and I would highly recommend it for anyone keen next year.

Report provided by Mark Watson. 

Hillary Challenge Adventure Race

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of driving the MAC Adventure Race students to (and from) the Hillary Challenge in Christchurch.

This year, we entered two teams of 8- a Year 12/13 and Year 11. The race consisted of all participants in each team needing to navigate the full course together as a team by bike (approx 40km) and foot (20km plus) over 6 hours.

Huge effort, determination and grit was shown by all members of both teams and congratulations to the Year 12/13 mix team finishing as one of the top 6 school teams to secure a spot into the national champs held in October (Tongariro).

Thank you so much: Michelle and Mark Watson for your support, handy tips and driving one of the vans. Laura Faherty for organising everything including fabulous accommodation for us all. Claire Radford for ensuring everyone was fed well in a timely fashion. All 16 enthusiastic, young adventure racers for working as a team and giving your absolute best to represent MAC well.

Again, feeling very proud to be part of the MAC school community.

Report by Belinda Sides.

Secondary Schools Team Sailing National Championships

Congratulations to the MAC sailing team of Oli Wyeth, Thomas Jurczyluk, Mabel North, Joel Gemmell, Dan Russell, Imogen Nisbet and Madi Smith who competed in the Secondary Schools Team Sailing National Championships at the New Plymouth Yacht Club during the recent school holidays.

The regatta ran in a round-robin format with the 33 competing schools split into four fleets — gold, silver, bronze and emerald. The MAC team had qualified for the silver fleet at an event earlier this year in Picton. At the end of each round robin, two teams from each fleet moved up and two moved down.

The MAC team spent one round robin in the gold fleet before being demoted to silver, where they were the strongest team, winning five out of six races in the last round. and finishing 1st place in the silver fleet and 9th overall. Contributed report.

NZ Secondary Schools Pegasus Cup Showjumping

Last month Sophie, Bella and Zoe Fountain represented Mount Aspiring College at the Pegasus Cup Showjumping on 4 Mounts, in Cambridge.

The girls started strong winning the travel grant for their video submission showcasing the drive from Wānaka to Picton with 5 horses on board, and went on to place in all Showjumping classes against 45 other schools, each team consisting of 4 rider/horse combinations. The team finished 3rd on day 1 and 15th on day 2.

• Sophie rode 2 ponies and competed in the 1.10m (on Deli) and 1.15m (on Tonic) 

  Results: 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th

• Bella Fountain competed in the 1.0m class on her pony Purple

  Results:  2nd and 9th

• Zoe Fountain had to borrow Bella's pony (as hers was injured) and competed in the 70cm on Memphis

  Results:  2nd and 7th

National Swimming Championships

MAC swimmers made a splash at the 2025 Apollo Projects New Zealand Age Group Swimming Championships, as part of the Wānaka Swim Club team, finishing an impressive 12th out of 74 teams from around the country,  a remarkable result for a team of just six swimmers.

The team travelled to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre to compete against the country’s best, delivering standout performances across multiple events and age groups. What made the championship even more special was the number of outstanding personal best times recorded by the team. Swimmers achieved significant PBs across multiple events, a reflection of the hard work and dedication they’ve put in.

Individual Highlights

Hana Carnie (13yr old girls) had a standout meet, dominating the backstroke events and earning multiple medals:

•     Gold - 50m, 100m, and 200m Backstroke

•     Gold - 50m Freestyle

•     Silver - 200m and 400m Individual Medley

•     Otago record in 50m, 100m & 200m Backstroke

Sophia McClintock (13yr old girls) impressed with a mix of speed and endurance, medaling in several events:

•     Gold - 50m Butterfly

•     Bronze - 100m Freestyle

•     5th - 50m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly

•     7th - 200m Freestyle

Stella Harper (14yr old girls) demonstrated her versatility across freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke:

•     8th - 50m and 100m Backstroke

•     9th - 100m Freestyle and 200m Backstroke

•     11th - 400m Freestyle

•     14th - 100m Breaststroke

Hinato Watanabe (16yr old boys) showed consistency and determination in the breaststroke events, placing:

•     9th - 50m Breaststroke

•     10th - 100m Breaststroke

•     12th - 200m Breaststroke

Relays

Wānaka fielded relay teams in the girls 13–14 age group. The relay squad of Stella Harper, Sophia McClintock, Hana Carnie, and Lara Bradford competed in:

•     200m Medley Relay - 2nd

•     400m Medley Relay - 4th

•     200m Freestyle Relay - 3rd

These relays capped off a stellar campaign, showcasing both individual talent and team spirit.

These results are a testament to the commitment and energy of the swimmers, coach, and supporters behind Wānaka Swim Club. To place in the top 12 nationally with such a small team while smashing personal bests and standing on the podium is an achievement the whole community can be proud of. Report by Amy McClintock

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.