This week, the Rector received the following email from the New Zealand Curling Association.

I just wanted to email Otago Boys' High School about Ben Kinney, who played in the South Island Secondary Schools Curling Tournament over the weekend.

I wanted to mention what a fine young man Ben is and how you would be proud of how he represented the school. Ben had a difficult time with his team and illness over the weekend, which caused problems with being able to field a team. Ben was great at communication and receptive to ideas given to him. He also demonstrated great determination.

I think the story went that Tom was sick and couldn't play, so they had Charlie Hore fill in on Friday, but Charlie couldn't play the rest of the weekend - they were going to play with three. Then, unfortunately, Freddie Hore became ill on Friday night so couldn't play. This only left the team with two members. Jack Steele from the John McGlashan team offered to play for OBHS and gave his best. After three ends, the teams were tied up four all.

After struggling to find anyone to fill a spot, Jonty Russell from Maniototo Area School joined the OBHS team for the rest of the weekend. The team continued to play over the weekend with three players. What impressed me about Ben was, Jonty is only Year 7 and 11 years old and while he can curl, he was there to ensure the team could still play and complete their weekend of curling. Ben did not give up, he continued on being positive and leading his team. OBHS gave the games their best and played really well, never giving up and often giving teams a fright and making the work hard for their wins, especially the Maniototo team. 

This exemplified the true spirit of the game. As you will know, Ben was nominated for Boy's 'Spirit of Curling' along with Jed Nevill from JMC. This is a tremendous honour and one he should feel proud of as his peers voted him - he obviously made an impact.

Please note, that this isn't something I do unless I feel it is warranted; Otago Boys' High School should feel proud to have Ben Kinney as a member of their school. 

Warm regards

Lauren Becker
NZCA Secretary and Administrator
New Zealand Curling Association Inc