Volleyball,  Rugby, Ice Hockey, Rowing

Volleyball

At the start of the season, the SBHS A Volleyball team set their sights high, with the goal of becoming one of the best Volleyball teams that Shirley Boys' High School has had in recent years. Mainlands, Canterbury Champs and Nationals are the 3 main competitions the team face in their season. 

With the goal to make play-offs in each of these competitions,  the team achieved their first milestone by going through pool play un-rivalled, winning all four games, 3-0. 

Coming into Finals Day,  the team was carrying a few injuries, meaning some players had to play out of position.  However, this did not stop them from performing well. The team adjusted and carried on to win the Semi against Burnside 3-1, and the Final against Waimea (3-1) to become the first SBHS team to win the Mainland competition.

Rugby

Skills days and trials for Under 14 SBHS teams will take place during the week beginning 27 March.

Trials for Under 15 and Under 16 grades will commence during the week beginning 3 April.

The 1st XV and 2nd XV squad begin their pre-season with games versus St Thomas on 4 April and St Andrew’s on 7 April.

On Easter Monday we host Knox Grammar from Sydney in three games versus U16, 2nd XV and 1st XV.

A squad of up to 55 will then travel to Oamaru for games versus Roncalli, Dunstan and Southland BHS.

The 1st XV competition commences with a home game versus Ashburton College on 29 April.

All other grades will have grading games on 6 and 13 May, before competition starts on 20 May.

We are also working alongside Shirley RFC and some of our boys will play Under 18 and represent the club in what will essentially be our 3rd XV. There will be some boys who miss selection in the 1st XV/2nd XV squad who will be offered the opportunity to play in that 3rd XV.

All rugby boys should keep looking at the Rugby noticeboard outside Sick Bay, and on the SBHS Rugby Club Facebook page.

Weekly draws and all information will always be posted there, so that boys can keep up to date with where they are supposed to be.

We will also be looking for billets for the Knox Grammar visit. While the majority of the visitors will be hosted by 1st XV/2nd XV boys, we are looking for 48 beds on the night of Sunday 16 April (Easter Sunday). Just a one night stay;  we will farewell Knox following the after-match function on the Monday afternoon.

An Under 15/16 selection will also play St Patricks College from Sydney on Saturday 22 April. No billets are needed for this group.

Ice Hockey

Matheson Graham (Yr12) and Ryan Fraser (ex pupil) are currently away with the New Zealand U18 Ice Hockey Team.

The team which consists of 19 Players and 2 Goalkeepers, will be participating in the 'Under 18, Division III Group A World Championships' to be held in Chinese Taipei from the 21st - 27th of March.

Preparation training, since last Friday, has been happening in Beijing, China.

In-between the 'off-ice' and 'on-ice' training the team have had some time-out to visit 'The Great Wall of China' and the 'Summer Palace, and have a planned tour of the 'Forbidden City' to come.

New Zealand are the newcomers to this division, having been the gold medalists of division III Group B in 2016 and so are expecting a tough competition from all group teams, which include Bulgaria, China, Israel, Taipei and Turkey.

For those interested in watching the free live-streamed games, visit www.IIHF.com, click 'championships', click (green box) WM18, click Division III group A, and then click live-stream

Games in New Zealand time will be:

21st March, 11.30am, verse Israel

22nd March, 3pm, verse Taipei

24th March, 8am, verse Turkey

25th March, 8am, verse China

27th March, 11.30am, verse Bulgaria

Ryan will be playing in shirt # 2, and Matheson in shirt # 5.

Photos show Assistant Coach, Dean Tonks at the airport with the Canterbury boys, and instructing players on-ice in Beijing with Matheson (red shirt) kneeling.

Rowing

Rowing Success at the South Island Secondary Schools Championships

After a stand out performance by the SBHS Rowing squad at the Canterbury Secondary School regatta, where they won 10 medals – expectations were high as they prepared for the South Island Championships

Held at Lake Ruataniwha, Twizel the South Island Secondary Schools Championships is one of the largest regattas in the season. This year 1200 rowers from 47 schools competed for two days, fighting it out for rowing supremacy in the South. Shirley Boys High School entered a large squad of 34 rowers, eager to continue their impressive development in the past three seasons. They did not disappoint.

Qualifying through knock out heats, 15 crews made ‘A’ finals placing them in the top 8 in the South Island. From these crews, eight won medals, the best return for SBHS rowing at a premier regatta (beating seven in 2016). These included;

•  Gold - Under 18 Lightweight Double Sculls
  
• Silver - Under 15 Coxed Eight
• Silver - Under 17 Coxed Quad
• Silver - Under 15 Coxed Quad
  
• Bronze – Under 15 Coxed Four
  
• Bronze – Under 17 Coxed Four
  
• Bronze - Under 18 Coxed Quad
  
• Bronze – Under 18 Coxed Four
  

The Under 18 Lightweight combination of Jake Luthi and James Alexander won in commanding fashion to claim the South Island title while Under 17 crews continued their all-round dominance in a number of boats. Most pleasing was the performance of the Under 15 crews. Coming in with mixed results during the season, they shone at the regatta. A highlight being the brainstorming finish of the Under 15 Eights, in a tussle with an older and more experienced crew from STAC they fought for each inch falling just short of the South Island title. With the development and success of this group, the future of rowing at SBHS looks bright.

A smaller squad is now in preparation for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Rowing Championships (commonly known as Maadi). Held at Lake Karapiro, 2,500 rowers from over 130 schools compete for 8 days in hope to see their school colours on the podium. We wish the SBHS rowing squad well in this endeavour.