The 2016 Canterbury Regional Geography Quiz Competition – Maatangi Whenua, was held recently at the John Britten Building, part of the Engineering Department at the University of Canterbury.

The SBHS gteam consisted of George Cox, Marcus Shore and Olli Clark.

These boys were under immense pressure to add a third Canterbury Title for SBHS after some mediocre performances over the past 3 years. The boys were feeling confident after their sterling preparation under the watchful eye of their classroom teacher – Mr Keats. However there was a heavy burden of expectation and pressure.

This year there were a total of 26 teams – representing schools from as far afield as Rangiora and Timaru. The SBHS gteam started strongly, scoring a top grade in the current events round and were in the Top 5 at the first points update.

The usual masterful modelling efforts from SBHS teams were seen again this year in the Playdoh modelling round and matching flags to photos questions.

At the end of the round robin, SBHS finished 4th. Unfortunately, 1st place went to CBHS – their first ever victory in the competition.

This result is a credit to the 2016 SBHS gteam, and their teacher Mr Keats, and they should be proud of their efforts. If they continue in this vein of Geography, they can ultimately make the New Zealand Geography Olympiad Team. We have had excellent performances in the past and this has led to boys travelling to Taipei and Poland to compete for New Zealand.