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:
As we head into the last two weeks of term one, we have lots going on.
- Good luck to the 10 students who are heading to Timaru this weekend to compete in the South Island Secondary School Athletics Championships.
- Good luck to the 20 Year 7/8 students who are heading to Dunedin this weekend to compete in the Otago Primary School Swimming Championships.
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:
5-7 April - South Island Secondary School Athletics Championships
7 April - Otago Primary School Swimming Championships
10 April - MAC Enduro Mountain Biking Champs POSTPONED
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 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.
MOUNTAIN BIKING
Twenty riders represented MAC at the 2024 South Island Secondary Schools MTB Champs’. Three days – 3 races – 3 disciplines. Race organisers decided not to cap entries with the outcome being the biggest turnout ever to a NZ SISS MTB race, 400 riders in the Downhill and 430 riders in the enduro.
Downhill (DH) riders practised while the Cross Country (XC) riders raced on Wednesday. We were incredibly fortunate with the weather - windless days, blue skies and warm temperatures. The race village was abuzz with messy teenagers, and the heckler scene was one of the best I’ve encountered. Groups of kids were equipped with portable speakers and home-made noise makers including chainsaws and bells. The favourite call from spectators was “get off the brakes”.
The XC had some brutal climbs, sprinkled with single track, steep drops, gap jumps, off camber grass, and groomed flow trail. Riders gave it everything, there was no room to ease up.
Red skies greeted the team at Thursday’s sunrise, but the weather played nicely and another stunner of a day emerged from the early morning cloud. The DH track at Coronet has been there for as long as I can remember, and it rewards those that can think fast, boost doubles, and hold corner speed. As expected, there were a few crashers, and some incredibly fast times from the new wave of mountain bikers coming up.
After a long day on Friday due to DH rider numbers there was a small sleep in before the enduro on Saturday morning. Many riders after a shot at the overall title had entered all three races, riding and competing non-stop all week, and fatigue was starting to show.
An early morning hot air balloon watched us descend the Crown Range, back again to have another crack at Coronet Peak trails. Four stages of fun flowing tracks, exhausted kids dug deep for energy, I attended a few crashes with my trusty Alan Keys. Unfortunately Tarn Currie took a tumble on the third stage of the enduro and got a heli evacuation to get a broken leg set in plaster. That put a dampener on spirits – Tarn is a good mate and we hate seeing one of our own suffer.
Below are the results – evidence of a lot of effort put in by the MAC kids.
Overall Podium - South Island Secondary School Champions
2nd - U14 Girls: Paige Boomsma
1st - U15 Girls: Eva Small
1st - U17 Girls: Ruby Smith
2nd - U20 Men: Kalan Evans
XC Relay Tarn Currie and Max Bagley and Jack Stanley 6th
INDIVIDUAL Top 20 RESULTS:
Cross Country (XC)
U14 Girls - Paige Boomsma 3rd
U15 Girls - Eva Small 1st
U17 Girls - Ruby Smith 3rd
U20 Girls - Katie Lawrence - 2nd
U13 Boys - PJ Foxley - 8th
U16 Boys - Marshall Watson - 12th
U17 Boys - Max Bagley - 6th
U17 Boys - Tarn Currie - 7th
U17 Boys - Luka Cowan - 15th
U20 Boys - Kalan Evans - 14th
Down Hill (DH)
U14 Girls - Paige Boomsma 3rd
U15 Girls - Eva Small 3rd
U15 Girls - Brynn Smith 14th
U17 Girls - Ruby Smith 2nd
U13 Boys - Jessiah Clark 14th
U13 Boys - Frank McSweeney 15th
U14 Boys - Toby Hartnell 17th
U17 Boys - Finley Woolley 10th
U20 Boys - Kalan Evans 4th
Enduro
U14 Girls - Paige Boomsma 3rd
U15 Girls - Eva Small 1st
U17 Girls - Ruby Smith 2nd
U20 Girls - Katie Lawrence 2nd
U13 Boys - Frank McSweeney 9th
U13 Boys - Jessiah Clark 11th
U13 Boys - PJ Foxley 16th
U14 Boys - Toby Hartnell 14th
U17 Boys - Finley Woolley 9th
U17 Boys - Max Bagley 14th
U20 Boys - Kalan Evans 3rd
Report written by Trish Wrigley - the super star Team Manager. Thank you so much for all of your hard work. The students, parents and school really appreciated it.
SPORTS EXCHANGE
On Wednesday the 3 April, Downlands College (a girls’ school from Queensland in Australia) came to MAC for the afternoon to play our senior A and B netball teams and also our girls 7s rugby team. It was a great way to start the season for our teams and it was fantastic to see the support for our teams from the rest of the school over the three-hour tournament.
The netball teams had a great battle out on the court with the following results:
MAC A 28 vs Downlands A 35
MAC B 27 vs Downlands B 14
The MAC girls 7s rugby team had a great game against the Downlands College B team, in front of a huge lunchtime crowd. The final score for this game was Downlands 17-10 MAC. They then played a fun game with a mix of our players and Downlands B team players to play their school A team.
This was a fantastic experience for our students and hopefully one that we can replicate in the future. Huge thanks to our umpires for the exchange: for Mr Crosbie for the rugby and Lottie Hunt (Year 13) and Olivia Mae Stanley (Year 13) for umpiring both netball games.
EQUESTRIAN
Congratulations to Year 11 student Sophie Fountain who recently finished the equestrian season on an incredible high winning every national title in New Zealand in the 1.10-1.20 class on her pony Deli.
Here is a round up of Sophie’s amazing season:
- Sophie won the national title for the 1.10-1.20 class, held over 5 rounds, finishing on zero faults over 65 jumps.
- Sophie won the 1.20 Speed Pony of New Zealand title in Hawkes Bay at Horse of the Year (HOY) where she won by six seconds.
- Sophie took out the South Island series for Mini Prix (1.15-1.25) in Waimate.
- Sophie won the area titles at the Southland Title - Mini Prix (1.15-1.25), Canterbury Title - Mini Prix (1.15-1.25), and South Island Title - Mini Prix (1.15-1.25).
- Sophie and her pony Bro are currently sitting 7th in New Zealand (judged over 48 weekends of competition).
- Sophie also won the Southland Title - Grand Prix (1.20-1.35) and finished 8th at Horse of the Year in this category and 7th at nationals.
- Sophie and her Otago team also placed second equal at Horse of the year in the 1.20 Saba Sam team event.
Sophie, your consistency and skill at these events is an inspiration to us all and a great example of our school value of Ihi (growing resilience through our determination and commitment to do our very best) in action.
Congratulations Sophie - everyone at MAC is very proud of you.
SAILING
Four pairs of sailors from MAC represented Wānaka Yacht Club at the Sail GP Inspire Feva regatta in Lyttelton recently. This is a youth sailing regatta held alongside the SailGP event in many ports around the world.
Wanaka were on fire with Mabel North and Madison Smith were the overall winners of the Inspire regatta, Oli Wyeth and Thomas Jurczyluk finished third equal on points, Dan Russell & Joel Gemmell finished in 16th place and Matthew Jurczyluk and Kate Russell finished in 18th place.
Sailors were able to enjoy fantastic conditions, friendly banter and opportunities to tour behind the scenes and meet their heroes at the main Sail GP event. Overall a very inspiring few days.
Good luck to Mabel, Oli and Thomas who are now preparing for national youth trials in Auckland in mid April.
Report written by Roger North.
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.
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
