The Nayland College Senior Girls Basketball team capped off a fantastic undefeated season by beating Waimea A 38-35 in the final. Our Senior Boys Basketball team came second in the Men’s B Grade after a loss to the Stoke Raiders in the final. And for the first time, our Girls Rugby Team made it through to the final, losing to Motueka in a closely fought match.

For the Naycol Black girls basketball team, their first placing in the Division 1 competition was not surprising as it came off the back of a 12 game season-long winning streak. Their coach, Janine McCarthy, put their success down to the girls being prepared to do the hard yards to succeed.

“The team's success, I feel, is because of their commitment, turning up every week for training, and working hard on growing their skills and confidence. They have become very close as a team,” she said.

Janine said that she has found it very satisfying watching her team progress through the season.

“The highlights for me were having an amazing group of young ladies to coach, who were willing to learn and then watching them get better with every game. They never gave up and were able to handle the pressure in close games. To be undefeated for the season is truly awesome. We did have some good fun and laughs along the way too. Very proud of their achievement,” Janine said.

With many strong junior players coming through and the bulk of this side returning next year, the future of girls basketball is looking good at the college.

Over in Motueka, our girl's rugby team went down 31-19 in a closely fought match on Wednesday. Nayland dominated the first half, but Motueka, spurned on by an enthusiastic home crowd, came back to win in the second half, in a bruising encounter that saw several players leave the field with injuries.

Nayland were a dominant team all season in this competition, and with many of the players still juniors, it is another sport that is looking promising for the future.