A huge welcome to 2021 and to our first Sports newsletter of the year. We are extremely excited to see what 2021 has in store for us and we welcome all of our new athletes to St Margaret’s alongside the amazing ones we already have.

Here at SMC, we pride ourselves in our sportsmanship and we encourage all of our students to give everything a go. We have a vast array of sports to offer here at St Margaret's College and judging from the Sign-Up day everyone made the most of the opportunities available. From Archery to Water polo, Paddock to Pool, Ball to Mallet we have it all. Trials are underway and teams are being organised which makes the Sport Office a hub of activity. Our Sport Council is ready for the year ahead, as are our new Year 13 Captains and Co-Captains of their respective sporting codes.

Our Heads of sport, Georgia and Abby Y13 would like to introduce themselves, they write;

“Hi, I'm Georgia Reed and I am excited to be SMC's joint Head of Sport this year with Abby Mason. I have always been passionate about sport and enjoy the competitive nature that it brings to my life. Currently, I am playing Netball, Touch, and Waterpolo, however, I am also coaching and refereeing in my spare time. I am grateful for the opportunities that Sport has presented me. I am able to represent both SMC and Canterbury in Touch and Waterpolo, while also representing SMC and Christchurch in Netball. Sport is a huge aspect of my life and I have met so many amazing people along the way, allowing me to develop connections both in and out of school. I am lucky enough to play with athletes of all different ages and experiences with Waterpolo and this has been one of my highlights. Looking forward to this year, I am super excited to get all girls involved in sport, whether that be competitively or socially, and developing relationships within and between sporting codes. I can't wait to see our SMC players and students develop and improve while creating their masterpieces.”

“Hi, I'm Abby Mason and am lucky enough to have the opportunity to be joint Head of Sport at SMC this year along with Georgia Reed! Sport has always been a huge part of my life, and from a young age, I competed in many sports, including swimming, athletics and netball. Currently, I now just play tennis throughout the year and hockey in the winter. As part of my involvement in my own sport, I also enjoy coaching junior school tennis Hot Shots at lunchtimes, an awesome way for me to share my love for the sport. The passion for sport at SMC is incredible, hence why we have so many girls involved, with record numbers in multiple Summer sporting codes already this year! This year Georgia and I aim to continue encouraging each girl's involvement in sport, whether that is competitively or socially. Additionally, we hope to serve as role models in sportsmanship and fair play, that our SMC girls can pride themselves on, regardless of whether on or off the court or field. We can't wait to see what this year brings!”

Please get in touch with us if you have any sporting news, we love to hear from you whether it is in or out of school.

louise.eder@stmargaretscollege.school.nz

Equestrian
Our riders have been super busy over the summer so far.
Cass Causer Year 11, riding FH Pipsqueak (Pippi) at the National Showjumping Championships (21st - 24th Jan) won the National 1.00 -1.10m Pony Championship. There were about 30 in her class and the competition was five rounds over three days. Phew, good job Cass, that is a lot of hard work.

 Fabriana McQuarrie Year 11 on her beautiful grey Chunky, has had some exceptional results to date. She writes; “At Nationals I won the Statesman horse floats NZ National 1.00m Horse Championship (round A) and also won the Ataahua stables NZ National 90cm pony championships (round A) on a different pony. At Ashburton, I won the Canterbury vets 1.10cm Horse Championship. 

Mimi Dyer Y13 competed in five different shows and was placed in each one. Congratulations Mimi, that is an impressive amount of ribbons around your pony’s neck.

South Canterbury A&P Show
- Champion open A ring
- Supreme champion open show pony of the show

Courtenay A&P Show
- Champion led pony
- Champion open A ring pony
- riding pony sash
- supreme champion open show pony of the show
- supreme exhibit of the show

South Island Premier Championship Show
- champion open A ring pony

Little River A&P Show
- champion open A ring pony

Canterbury Breeders Show
- champion open A ring pony

Old Girls
Our very own Old Girl Violette Perry is off to Yale University. Described by Sky Sport as a promising Kiwi thrower and Water Polo player Violette has chosen Yale to pursue her passion for engineering, Track and Field and Water Polo. We wish you all the best Violette and we are super proud!! #Empoweringgirls

https://www.instagram.com/p/CK8fC6dnB9E/

Rowing
Our Rowing Captain and Vice-Captain, Charlotte Parker Y13 and Georgia Dawson Y13 are excited for the remainder of the 2021 season, they write:

“During the summer break our rowing squad made our way down to Twizel to begin our January training camp. As we loaded the bus, everyone was excited to be back training together and to take part in our first regatta in Twizel, at Canterbury Club Champs. Although the racing on Sunday got abandoned due to the wind picking up through the day, we still managed to get in some great racing. From this regatta, we then spent the next four days training and working hard to improve. After having a week training back on the Kaiapoi, we headed down to Twizel for South Island Club Champs the following week. It was clear that the hard work from camp had paid off as technically and physically everyone had made improvements to their rowing stroke. Collectively the squad made 18 A finals and from this, we managed to come away with 2 bronze, 3 silvers and 1 gold medal. It was also great to see so many supporters cheering on the girls and everyone should be very proud of their efforts. Now we are back in a routine of training and school, the coaches and girls are consistently working hard as we prepare for South Island Secondary Schools and Maadi!” 

Sarah Smallman writes; “Our Rowers had an outstanding weekend at the South Island Club Championships in Twizel. Results include Gold in the U16 4+, Silver in the U15 8+, Novice 8+, U168+, and Bronze medals in the U17 and U198+. We now embark on a busy schedule of training and racing leading into the Maadi Cup at the end of the term. Well done to all of our rowers, coaches and supporters, and a big thank you to our sponsors.”

Volleyball
Over Term 4 and the Christmas break, we have had six volleyballers training and competing in Beach Volleyball events here in Christchurch and around New Zealand. In recent weeks they represented Canterbury at the Interprovincial Tournament in Ruakaka and all did exceptionally well. Our best result came from Ella Ballantyne, who with her partner Taylah Holdem took out the Under 19 title. This was a great achievement and Ella played exceptionally well in these games. Our representatives were Ella Ballantyne, Rosa Davidson, Emily O'Connor, Annabelle Goodwin, Charlotte Haycock and Emma Mason.

Five SMC teams were entered into the pre-season volleyball tour in the North Island over Waitangi Weekend in preparation for the upcoming indoor season while also competing in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Beach Volleyball Tournament. Over two days the girls played four indoor matches against Matamata College, Orewa College, Bethlehem College and Otumoetai College. There were many impressive plays and we are really looking forward to competing in our Canterbury competition plus the New Zealand Secondary Schools event in Palmerston North in March.

In the beach tournament, our most experienced pairing of Ella Ballantyne and Rosa Davidson made the semi-finals allowing them to place in the top four of New Zealand. We are really proud of them and the commitment and the development of beach volleyball at SMC because of their determination and drive.

In Division 2, our new pairing of Emma Mason and newcomer Meg Downs made quarterfinals and finished an excellent 5th=.

Overall our touring group of Ella Ballantyne, Rosa Davidson, Annabelle Goodwin, Emily O'Connor, Eliza Bathurst, Ellie Withers, Charlotte Haycock, Bridie James, Emma Mason and Meg Downs were excellent ambassadors for SMC and we are excited for the indoor season ahead.

Junior School
Sport in the junior school gets underway this week with Hot Shots Tennis and Flippa Ball (Junior Water Polo). There has been a huge response by girls interested in both sports. Next week, Cricket skills begin on Friday lunchtime. We have a huge amount of junior school girls eager to learn cricket and luckily a large group of senior students ready to coach these girls. On Sunday 28th February we have the Weet-bix Tryathlon. If your child is registered for the morning event but didn't register under the St Margaret's College name, don't worry, come along and leave your gear under our gazebo and enjoy the race with your school friends. If there are any questions about Junior School Sport, please don't hesitate to ask Bindy O'Callaghan.

bindy.o’callaghan@stmargarets.school.nz