Papamoa College's first overseas sporting trip.

During the July school holidays, 17 Papamoa Girls 1st XI players left for 10 days on the Gold Coast to compete in the Worldsport Hockey Carnival. 

The team arrived late Thursday night and were up early Friday morning for their first game which was in 26 degrees heat.  Not used to playing in these temperatures and the opposition being an Aussie Under 17 rep team,  it was the toughest game of the week and the girls struggled with fatigue and heat exhaustion.

Besides playing hockey during the week, the team got to go to theme parks and the Australian Outback Spectacular Show. There was plenty of time between games to go shopping and the night markets on the beach at Surfers Paradise. The girls loved this and certainly spent time and money exploring these shopping malls and marketplaces. Our accommodation was fantastic with great views of the beach and city life. As we acclimatised to the weather, clear blue skies and 21-26 C every day, we improved, learning to adapt and playing a different style of hockey to what we are used to, mainly to help conserve energy. 

Our second game was played on the Gold Coast Hockey Centre turf (the venue where Blacksticks women’s team won their gold medals at the Commonwealth Games).  The other team scored 2 good goals and we lost 2-0 but this was a great game. Our third game was another closely matched game. The girls adapted and changed their game plan, leading 2-0 at halftime. Keeping the pressure on P.C won 6-0. We had a special training session, coached by high-level performance coach Des King. The girls loved it; this was by far the highlight of the tour. Des engaged all the players and they didn’t want to stop learning from him after 2 solid hours. Our last game of the week was a highlight too, as we played at Queensland University. Amazingly, they have two full hockey turfs on the rooftop of their car parking building. After a slow start in the first half, 0-0 at halftime, the girls stepped up and found the back of the goal five times to win 5-0. It was a great way to finish the week. 

Overall the trip was a great success and the girls gained so much from it through hockey skills, life skills, meeting and socialising with different players and people from around NZ and Australia.  We thank you, girls, for being so well behaved, responsible and respectful while travelling. You are an asset to your community, Papamoa College, and your whanau.  Lastly, I would like to thank the School Board, Principal and other school staff working behind the scenes, to make this trip possible.