SPORTS

Term 1 is a busy term with lots of fun sports events on, so make sure you keep up to date with all of the information through the school newsletter and the daily notices. Our Mount Aspiring College Sports Hub Facebook page is also a great place to keep an eye on upcoming sporting events and opportunities. If you ever have any questions come and see Ignacio (Head of Sport) and Claire (Sports Coordinator) in the Sports Hub (at the entrance to the gym) anytime. You can also contact us via email at sport@mtaspiring.school.nz

COMING UP THIS WEEK:

We are currently in the middle of the busiest week of sport all term! It’s Summer Tournament Week and we have large numbers of students spread around the country competing. 

• Our MAC Mountain Bike team are taking on the South Island’s best at the Skoda South Island School Championships at Coronet Peak over the next four days.
• The New Zealand Secondary School Triathlon Champs are being held in Tauranga this week and we have Josh Moody competing in the U19 Category.
• Our MAC rowers are halfway through their campaign in Twizel for MAADI Cup (New Zealand Secondary School Championships). As we write this week's SportsBag there are some outstanding results coming in from these students, with five crews having already secured spots in the A Finals for Friday and Saturday, four more crews are into B finals and then three others are into C and D finals. Go MAC!
• The Central Otago Primary School Athletics Champs are being held in Alexandra next week on Wednesday the 27th of March. We have a large team of year 7&8 athletes who have qualified for this event after their strong performances at the Upper Clutha Athletics Championships held two weeks ago.

Sports Calendar:  Term 1, 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 Ignacio and Claire at the Sports Hub or email us at sports@mtaspiring.school.nz

Term 1:

18-23 March - MAADI - NZSS Rowing Championships

21-23 March - South Island Secondary School Mountain Bike Championships

27 March - Central Otago Primary School Athletics Championships

3 April - Top Bike

5-7 April - South Island Secondary School Athletics Championships

7 April - Otago Primary School Swimming Championships

10 April - MAC Enduro Mountain Biking Champs

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

Our Sports Notices section has important information about upcoming events, including links to entry forms. 

BASKETBALL

The Year 11-13 Central Otago Schools Senior Basketball competition will be played in Term 2. Please read the information below and complete the registration form by Friday 22 March if you are wanting to play.

What: Central Otago Schools Senior Basketball Competition

When: Monday 6 May - Monday 1 July

Time: Games are held between 5-8pm

Where: School Gyms across Central Otago

Teams involved: MAC, Wakatipu, Dunstan, Cromwell and Roxburgh

Transport: School vans and parent cars

Registration Form: Year 11-13 Basketball registration form

MAC ENDURO

Registrations are now open for the MAC ENDURO Champs.

Please click on this link to find more information: ENDURO Registration Form

Registrations close on Wednesday 3 April.

Please note that there is a limit of 100 students for this event, so register quickly if you are wanting to compete!

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.

ATHLETICS

MAC students Phoebe Laker, Cody Armstrong and Matthew Botting recently competed at the 2024 Jennian Homes New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Wellington and came away with outstanding results at this national event.

Phoebe won the U16 400m final by 0.04s in a personal best time of 57.29s. Phoebe also teamed up with three other athletes, including 2023 MAC student Niamh Townsend to place third in the U20 women's 4x100m relay. Niamh also placed fifth equal in the U20 women's 100m final.

Cody qualified ninth in the U20 400m, narrowly missing a place in the final. Cody was also part of two U20 men's relay teams, placing second in the 4x100m and third in the 4x400m with a 49.95s split in his 400m leg.

Matthew Botting competed in the U20 triple jump placing a creditable eighth.

Congratulations Phoebe, Cody and Matthew on your excellent performances - everyone at MAC is very proud of you!

MAC SWIM SPORTS

Last Friday, the Wānaka Rec Centre was a hive of activity as our MAC students took over the pool for our 2024 MAC Swim Sports. It was fantastic to see so many students in the pool and we had some fantastic results with five records broken! Once again, the relays were a highlight of the day with some great inter house competition going on. Iron came away with the overall victory, with Roy not far behind. Congratulations to all of our competitive and non-competitive swimmers - it was awesome to see you out there giving it a go!

Individual Results - Swimming Champions

11 Year Old Girls

1st - Millie Campbell

2nd - Asha Blake

3rd - Esme McArthur

11 Year Old Boys

1st - Winston Harper

2nd - Tenki Watanabe

3rd - Bill Dobson

12 Year Old Girls

1st - Hana Carnie

2nd - Sophia McClintock

3rd - Kaitlyn Bagley

12 Year Old Boys

1st - Sam Taylor

2nd - Daniel King

3rd - Mason Wootton

13 Year Old Girls

1st - Stella Harper

2nd - Mackenzie Smith

3rd - Olivia Smith

13 Year Old Boys

1st - Vinnie Lamb

2nd - Luke Evans

3rd - Duncan Turner

14 and 15 Year Old Girls

1st - Fleur Jansen

2nd - Neve Twiname

3rd - Grace Pope

14 and 15 Year Old Boys

1st - Hinato Watanabe

2nd - Jack Sides

3rd - Tarn Currie

Over 16 Year Old Girls

1st - Taylah Jones

2nd - Lucy Radford

3rd - Sophie Walsh

House points:

1st - Iron = 934 points

2nd - Roy = 835 points

3rd - Barker = 667 points

4th - Pisa = 529 points

Records broken:

50m Backstroke - 12 Year Old Girls

Hana Carnie - 32.22sec

Previous Record: Clare Walker 33.10sec, 1996

50m Backstroke - 13 Year Old Girls

Stella Harper - 33.25sec

Previous Record: Fleur Jansen 33.84sec, 2023

50m Backstroke - 13 Year Old Boys

Vinnie Lamb - 32.03sec

Previous Record: Wilfred Spearing 33.67sec, 2014

50m Backstroke - Over 16 Year Old Boys

William Schurink - 28.94sec

Previous Record: Mitchell Worthington 30.48sec, 2014

50m Freestyle - 12 Year Old Girls

Sophia McClintock - 29.63sec

Previous Record: Maddie Brett 30.45sec, 2007

QUAD SPORTS EXCHANGE

Last week, fifty Mount Aspiring College students travelled to Cromwell to participate in the annual Quad sports exchange. This exchange involves teams of ten students (five girls and five boys) from Years 9 to 13 competing in sports against Cromwell College and Central Southland College. 

This year, the sports we played were netball, touch, football, volleyball and dragon boat racing.This exchange is all about having fun but also about embracing the competitive spirit and playing to win. Our students showed great sportsmanship and played with intensity. This year MAC did incredibly well taking out the win in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 making us the overall winners of the exchange. It all had a great couple days getting to know students from other schools, playing lots of good sports, and having fun.

Thank you to Cromwell College for hosting the event and to both Cromwell College and Central Southland College for competing with such spirit and skill.

Written by Eva Gilbertson (Year 13).

SAILING

Fourteen MAC students aged 11 to 17 travelled up for the three day competition and did MAC proud with excellence shown in both sporting achievement and sportsmanship.

MAC A were able to come back with a string of wins to take out top spot in the "silver fleet". Their achievements were noted by the organisers who also awarded MAC the overall sportsmanship award with particular reference to a very hotly contested battle and a narrow win against Nayland. MAC A looks forward to even bigger battles in the forthcoming Nationals event in New Plymouth 22-26 April.

Meanwhile MAC B did just great. They were on a huge learning curve , improving and developing rapidly race by race and with a very bright future ahead and excellent sense of camaraderie.

Both MAC teams are coached by Lily Grimshaw (and supported by the Wanaka Yacht Club). MAC teams sailing training is organised by volunteers at Wanaka Yacht Club. For further info please e mail learn@wanakayachtclub.co.nz.

CRICKET

A bunch of past and present MAC cricket players came together this week to create a first XI team to play in the inaugural Gillette Cup competition in Dunedin. There were losses, moments of pure frustration and glimmers of sheer brilliance as the side battled against other regional teams over the three days. The boys would like to acknowledge the huge support of their coaches Sean Haig and Dougal Rowley who made this event happen. And a massive thank you to the TIC Mrs Sides.

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.

JUNIOR RUGBY

HOCKEY

The UC Hockey Club 2024 season registrations are now open! (until Monday 25 March)

To register go to:

https://www.playhq.com/hockey-new-zealand/org/upper-clutha-hockey/face3c86/register

FOOTBALL

Wānaka AFC - 2024 Registrations Now Open!

We’re excited to let you all know that registrations are NOW OPEN for the 2024 Wānaka AFC club season!

Registrations are open for the following:

• 2024 Wānaka AFC Club Season: Juniors, Youth and Seniors
• Come & Try: 4 weeks of free, non-committal 'have a go' sessions
• Soccer Sisters Come & Try: 4 weeks of free, non-committal 'have a go' Girls Only sessions
• Pre-Academy: Players U7-U12
• The Academy: Invitation Only

You can find everything you need to know on the Wānaka AFC website, including information about age groups, training dates and times, season dates, fees, payment, how to register and more.

VISIT HERE to read more and register.

Make sure you check us out on Facebook and Instagram where we post regular updates, too!

Please feel free to get in touch with us directly if you have any questions or concerns, we are more than happy to help. You can reach us at info@wanakafootball.nz or academy@wanakafootball.nz