Mr Price’s AIMS Diary

Day 1 Sunday 8th September

Rāroa started off the Week well with a Gold in the very first event. Our Year 7 Girls collected the gold in the team Cross Country event with a team score of 65. Hetty Humphries (17th), Riley Holden (23rd) and Zoe Mills (25th) all ran their hearts out to collect Gold by 7 points over the two favourites and local schools.

Archie was another standout finishing 19th Overall out of over 150 boys.

The Team relay came in a hugely respectable 11th.

Netball also got their campaign away today with a comfortable win. The girls quickly got into their rhythm and some excellent stops from the defence end meant the ball smoothly ran through the court to our sharpshooters.

Day 2 Monday 9th September

Big Day up at Aims as all the team sports and tennis got underway.

Boys Football got off to a hiss and a roar getting to double digits in a good win and then backing it up with a solid win this afternoon. Only a few fellas left to score goals. It is likely they will play in the top 32 by the end of tomorrow.

Girls Football started with a very unlucky draw as the other team scored a miracle/accidental goal. They finished strong with a good win in the afternoon. They will have to have a great day to make it through to the top 16 tomorrow evening.

Netball have continued their awesome start and have made the top 64 with a huge win and a fighting loss in their pool play. They play the defending champs first up tomorrow.

Hockey had one great win (3-0) and then a hard fought loss (0-2, to possibly the favourites) to start their campaign. Another couple of rounds of pool play for them tomorrow as they go for a top 16 spot.

The tennis was impressive and Zoe and Katie showed a ton of spirit as they both played very high seeded players in their draw.

Day 3 Tuesday 10th September

Tuesday was a day of tiredness and frustration.

Our wonderful tamariki are certainly learning the relationship between sleeping well and feeling well. But on the whole, some great performances out there.

Netball started by taking on a team who have made the final for the last 4 years but showed immense courage to come away with an encouraging result. The game fueled them for their afternoon fixture where they brushed aside SWIS 21-11. The girls are playing the locals Mount Maunganui tomorrow where a win will put them into the top 32.

Hockey came up against a super strong Taradale side to start the day and had to show some absolute heart to score a great goal but ultimately going down. Like the Netball, the Hockey team bounced back putting 4 goals past Kaitao College. A win tomorrow morning will see the team playing off for a top 20 spot.

Girls Football knew that they had to come out firing today to make it into the top 16 and were playing the two hardest teams in their pool. Te Puke were their first victim, coming from behind in a composed manner to take the win 2-1 and then holding top of the table St Heliers to a draw. This got them into the 16 where they played a super impressive Murrays Bay outfit. They have a huge two games tomorrow to make it into the top 8.

Boys Football took on the island team of Waiheke to start and brushed them aside before a top of the table clash with Mahurangi saw them concede their first goal of the games. The boys continued to play their attacking brand and put 5 past Mahurangi to make it two from two for the day. They had then made the top 32 and came up against Blockhouse Bay Intermediate who were their first real challenge of the tournament. The boys went up early and were playing well before a change in direction meant playing into the wind where BBI were able to get one back. The game finished in a draw leaving our boys needing 2 from 2 tomorrow to make it into the top 8.

Tennis had a frustrating day of delays but the girls stepped up when they got onto the court. Katie fought super hard in her game, pushing her opponent around but unfortunately fell short. Zoe played an excellent style of tennis, managing to outlast her opponent to get the win. Unfortunately a touch of rain delayed games further. Hopefully a few more games for them tomorrow.

Jehvei started his Golf Tournament very well. He sits midpack after the round at Te Puke and is ready to fly up the leaderboard at Tauranga GC tomorrow.

Day 4 Wednesday 11th September

A stunner of a day meant stunner performances. Some amazing results from the day which saw our students come out with renewed energy.

Jehvei stayed steady in the Golf, carting another solid round at Tauranga Golf Course.

Zoe and Katie had another set of tough games. Katie fought hard in her first game but even harder in the second taking it to a super tie break before falling agonisingly close. Zoe played some mega tennis but came up short and then was defaulted to later in the day. This ends the singles and the girls have a packed out schedule of doubles tomorrow.

Billy's Table Tennis was on today and he came out with a hiss and a roar taking down his opponent from the Mount 3-1. Unfortunately his next two opponents were a step too far as he ended up 3rd in the pool. It was then into the knockout rounds and Billy found his groove again taking down his first opponent 3-1. His next match was an even affair, both players sharing the lead at different times of the match. The game went into the fifth set and finished 9-11 meaning Billy ended up the tournament about 150ish out of about 250 players.

The Netball team had two very close games today, agonisingly dropping the first game before regrouping and beating Dio in a hard fought 16-14 game. They should be super encouraged by that performance as they battle it out for the 33-40 slots tomorrow.

Hockey just had the one game today and played against a very determined Rototuna side who showed some clinical passing and finishing. This result sees them also playing off for the 33rd-40th spots.

Girls Football had two mighty performances today. The girls took on a high scoring Mount side and managed a commanding draw which meant they needed a big effort in the second game vs Kamo. They were magnificent and put Kamo away 2-0. Unfortunately the scoreline wasn't enough to see them make the Quarters on goal difference but they have an opportunity to finish in the top 10 over the next few days.

Boys Football had clearly recharged well overnight. They came out firing vs St Thomas' and put 4 past them before taking on a Group winner Auckland Normal. A determined effort saw the young men blast past them 3-0. Despite the draw in yesterday's final match. The boys have gone through to the quarters and have a huge match against the defending champs HIBS. 

Wish us all luck as we get into the business end!

Day 5 Thursday 12th September

Another stunner of a day and as predicted the games got super tight.

Jehvei put in a solid card to finish off his tournament. Overall he came 45th out of 90, playing bogey a hole for 3 days which is very impressive.

It was a gruelling day out for our Tennis superstars Katie and Zoe with match after match in doubles. After dropping their first two they maintained their composure and had a fantastically tight tussle. There were some exceptionally long rallies and some incredible points. It wasn't their day but the girls returned to camp with smiles on their faces.

Will Manks spent the day in the mountains on his bike as he entered the Enduro Mountain biking comp. With over 200 athletes sharing the course it was going to be a hectic ride. Across the 7 hours of biking, Will biked about 25 km with 20 of those being the uphill to get back to the start of the timed downhill runs. Will smashed his runs and nailed the technical sections superbly. An impressive 41st is nothing to be scoffed at!

The Netballers had two tough games today. They played Kamo straight up this morning and after a slow start brought themselves back into the game. If the game went on for another 3min the girls would've taken the W as they clawed back the early deficit. An awesome effort. The afternoon game saw them take on a huge Opotiki outfit but the speediness of the Eagles was too much for the tiring Bay team and the girls took home a comfortable win. Tomorrow they take the court hoping for 37th place.

Hockey had two tight games. In the first, the two teams matched each other's goals and the game rounded out to 3-3. This meant penalties where Anya stepped up and saved 3, whereas Grace, Imogen and Vaughan calmly slotted home their three to take the victory. In their afternoon match, the teams once again finished even on points (1-1) and it was to penalties again. This time it was Matthew who was in goal and he saved a good 2 goals. Our scorers didn't quite hit the mark and we went down. The Hockey team plays off for 35th tomorrow.

The Girls Football came across a good Dio team this morning and whilst dominating possession, couldn't quite get the ball in the back of the net enough. Dio took their chances and the game ended 2-1. The afternoon game finished 0-0 before Florence put on an impressive display as goalkeeper in the shootout comfortably seeing off the opposition penalties to see us advance. It's the 13th place play off for the girls tomorrow.

The Boys Football team started the day off with a hiss and a roar taking on HIBS. It was a physical match but the lads kept their calm and came out with a 2-0 win. Some great running in behind and two great finishes from Eddie and Seb saw the boys home. This put the boys into the semis. They were playing Northcote which is a traditionally strong team and they really showed us why. Some flawless passing and precision finishing saw them up 3-0 at the half. It was great to see the fight in our boys and they drew the second half 1-1. This sees the boys playing off for 3rd tomorrow. Fingers crossed for the bronze!

Day 6 Friday 13th September

Hockey kicked off the final day of sports playing off for 35th against Papamoa College. It was a mega game for the team, going ahead then behind to eventually draw the game at full time 2-2. Unfortunately there was no time for another penalty shootout (much to Anya’s dismay) and the team can say they finished a big 35th overall.

Netball was next off and they came up against a side who probably should have been playing for a higher seed. The girls stood tall and left it all out on the court for their last game, showing the grit they showed all week. It was a defeat to end what was a highly successful campaign, finishing 38th out of an amazing 150 teams. It was awesome to see the girls sticking to their style of netball throughout the week which can only be described as ‘Rāroa Ball!’

Girls Football were playing off for 13th and came out ready to play. The girls continued their slick passing which they played all week, moving the ball and the opposition around. Unfortunately for them it wouldn’t result in a goal but their defence was up to the challenge and stayed solid as ever. The game ended 0-0 and it was off to a penalty shootout! It was an impressive display from the girls and they slotted their goals neatly whilst Florence in goal stopped anything coming her way. 13th is a huge result for the girls!

Bronze! That was the goal for the boys who were taking on a highly regarded Northcross team. They started out in brilliant fashion, stealing a goal very early on to give them the lead. The ‘Terrier’ Seb scored a great goal from some slick passing. The boys then stayed on top keeping the Northcross players chasing the ball around. Just before half-time, a Northcross attack snuck past Ollie in goal and they went to the break 1-1. It was a second half that was split in two. Northcross dominated the first part of the half, and unfortunately for our lads scored 2 goals taking the lead 3-1. The ending of the game was all Rāroa, as attack after attack was taken to the Northcross defence. Northcross, however, stayed strong and managed to keep a clean sheet in the second half. The boys ended up an incredible 4th spot - equalling our highest ever finish in the Boys Football competition.

Thanks

A big thanks to all our Coaches for their hard work and contribution to the teams this year. Jimmy, Lara, Lorraine, Mr Bailey and Mr A all put in hours of work and effort to ensure our tamariki were best prepared for AIMS Games this year. A special shout out to Jimmy who has taken the Girls Football team for 4 consecutive years now. As the last Kemp leaves Rāroa, you will certainly be missed.

Another big thank you to all the parents who came and supported and stayed with the team for the week. We certainly know how valuable your leave is and to use it to ensure all our students are well fed, and taken care of throughout the week was much appreciated. The students loved having you there, cheering them on and filling their plates with yet another pasta bake.

My last thank you is to the team at Rāroa who made this all happen, Chris, Gab and Mike - you guys rock and did a magnificent job of thinking through every small detail to make this week run as smoothly as possible.

Our Aims Team

Cross Country - Hetty Humphries, Riley Holden, Zoe Mills, Josh O’Connor, Archie MacPhee, Seb Penney, Eddie Haswell

Tennis - Zoe Smith, Katie Sutherland

Golf - Jehvei Kiriona

Mountain Biking - Will Manks

Table Tennis - Billy O'Brien

Hockey - Anya Layfield, Williams van der Krogt, Vaughan Vollmer, Hunter Linton, Imogen Jacka, Olivia Wilson, Matthew Fisher, Grace Denton, Maci Weir

Netball - Hannah Monasands, Asha Hastings, Kayla Saunders, Zoe Moss, Isabelle Ashton, Monesa Mogan, Jessica Calvert, Emmeline Mahoney, Carys Phillips, Caramia Arthur, Lucia Dumbill

Girls Football - Florence Watson-Black, Phoebe Kemp, Scarlett Martin, Zoe Mills, Olivia Anderson, Tara Jamieson, Orlena Bissinger, Amber Courtney, Emily Cole, Isabelle Chin, Greer Jackson, Cece Stevens

Boys Football - Kieran McMahon, Matthew Affleck, James Curran, Ollie Hoar, Alex Cao, Joe Willoughby, Archie MacPhee, Spencer Pritchard, Seb Penney, Ed Kelly, Max Wade, Johnny Gill, Monty McKenzie, Mitchell Watson