Last week we had our annual Sport Awards evening for 2020. After what has been a very challenging year it was fantastic to be able to see actually just how much we have all achieved in the world of sport. A huge congratulations goes out to all of our award recipients. Just to be nominated for some of these prestigious awards is an honour in itself.

The full list of trophies and titles awarded will be printed in our 2020 yearbook. In the meantime, Congratulations to:

Senior Prizes

Sally Mene Tanoa- Aspiring Leadership - Georgia Reed

Jocelyn Freeman Rosebowl - Leadership in and Dedication to Sport - Olivia Parker and Josie Persico

Mollie Copper Cup - Sportsmanship and Service to Sport - Courtney Prebble

Chris Arthur Cup - Best Performed Team - Hockey 1st X1, U18 Rowing, Tennis SISS

Excellence in Sport Award - More than one Sport - Georgia Reed

Hiatt Cup - Outstanding Sporting Achievement in one Sport - Abby Mason

Reeves Trophy - Sportswoman of the Year - Abby Mason.

Middle School Prizes

St Margarets Cup - Outstanding Junior Sporting Achievement - Single best achievement Y9/10 - Ruby Young

St Margarets Cup - Junior Sportswoman - Outstanding achievements in more than one sport - Ivy Brown.

Cricket
It was fabulous to see the SMC Cricket girls in action after the postponement of the Gillette/Venus Cup (hard ball) and the Ford Foundation Shield (soft ball) competitions in Term 1 last week.

Our 1st XI (hardball) girls finished 6th overall. They had a strong win over Burnside by 91 runs, close losses to Villa Maria (2 runs), Ford Foundation Combined team by 2 wickets and to STAC by 15 runs. Stand out performances with the bat were Bella Spear (49) and sister Phoebe (47*) against Burnside and Niamh McKenzie (50*) against Villa Maria. With the ball Paris Hague 2 overs, 3 for 4 ( 3 wickets in four balls) against Burnside, Niamh McKenzie 1.2 overs, 2 for 6 (ending on a hattrick....) against Burnside. Frankie Jack 4 overs, 2 for 13 against STAC and Tayla Hardy 3 overs, 2 for 15 against STAC.
A great effort by the girls who played hard and gained from the experience, always with a smile (even when it was a bit chilly at Hagley!!)

Our Ford Foundation girls defended our title and retained the Ford Foundation Shield for the second year running!! A super close final against Burnside winning by just 5 runs!!! An exciting game and so great to see the girls enjoy themselves and come away with the shield!! Fantastic results girls - CONGRATULATIONS.

A huge thank you to Sharon for being our taxi driver to get us all to and from the grounds. We all really appreciated your help and support. Thank you also to Richard Lough for coaching the girls and giving them such a positive cricket experience. A shout out to Roger Wyeth and my Dad for being our SMC umpires for the tournament too! So awesome having professionals on our team!!
Amanda Hardy

Heads of Sport
A huge thank you to our fabulous Heads of Sport this year, Livvy Parker and Josie Persico. They have had a very unusual year and have had to adapt accordingly. Our SMC athletes especially enjoyed the initiative the girls took during Lockdown - the SMC Sport Isolation Challenge. This was a fantastic opportunity to keep our SMC girls connected and motivated during the lockdown period. Thank you for your amazing leadership skills girls, and we wish you all the best for your future endeavours.

Korfball
On the weekend of 31st October-1st November, at Pioneer Stadium, our combined SMC/CBHS Korfball team competed in the South Island Secondary School Championships, against teams from schools that have been competing for years in the sport. Pool play was exciting, resulting in three victories and only one loss in a close-fought match against Middleton Grange, who went on to win the competition. Having qualified for the top section in playoffs on the final day of competition, there were three more tough matches, culminating in a fierce battle against a combined Avonside Girls/Shirley Boys team, who quickly went out to a 5 goal lead. Excellent defence, determination and great teamwork allowed the SMC/CBHS team into the lead for the first time in the match with just one minute remaining on the clock. Our team kept calm maintaining their lead to win 5th place in the competition with a score of 17-16. An extra congratulations to Ellese Haigh (Year 10) for being selected in the tournament team of 4 female and 4 male players.
Thanks so much to all the supporters who came down throughout the weekend, it was very much appreciated by all. Special mention must go to superstar manager Amanda Hardy for all her work behind the scenes to keep the team firing each game.
The team plays on Friday nights at Bishopdale YMCA this term, if anyone is keen to come along, and see what all the hype is about! 

Orienteering
New Zealand Secondary School Paper team named | Orienteering New Zealand.
Congratulations to Katherine Babington who was named in the NZ Secondary School teams for Orienteering. There are two teams, NZ Harua and NZ Karahiwi and Katherine was named in the Junior girls Harua team. Due to Covid, it is such a shame that this won’t go ahead but it is awesome to be recognised and selected anyway.
Orienteering NZ writes, “Following last weekend’s National Orienteering Championships, the Junior Selection Panel has selected two New Zealand Secondary School Teams. In a regular year, these teams would take part in the Southern Cross Challenge against Australian state teams. In naming the team, selectors adhered to the selection criteria agreed with Orienteering Australia by having two teams of equal ability – i.e. not an A or B team. This is reflected in the team names: Harua and Karahiwi. Harua (valley) and Karahiwi (spur) are features found on every orienteering map around New Zealand."

Rugby 7’s
“The St Margaret’s Rugby Sevens team finally kicked off their season. The Condor qualifying competition was our first and last tournament of the year at Nga Puna Wai, where we ended up finishing our competition in the semi-finals against Christchurch Girls High. In our first pool game, we met Villa, where we started off a bit slow but got into the swing of things and started making some good plays that ended up scoring our tries. To finish up the game Cara was awarded a penalty try which won it for us. Our next game was against the Girls High development team and we saw a lot of improvements in our game as well as more confidence, which carried us to another win. The third game against Rangi was close but unfortunately, we were one try down which sent us into the semi-finals versus the top team, Girls High. The Girls' High team was very fast and physical and our defence wasn’t as strong as their attacking moves but we put up a good fight with the team making key tackles. For our first games of the season, I think we played very well and I am very proud of everyone who played because although we had training every week, they just aren’t the same as the real thing.”
Stella Ashcroft

Tennis
We have seven Tennis teams this term playing on Wednesdays’ with some fantastic results. One of our Premier Teams has gone unbeaten throughout Premier Grade. We have been able to enter two teams into Division 1 Senior with some awesome games and results so far. Two Year 9 Teams are also in Division 1, which demonstrates the strength of our Tennis across St Margaret’s. Keep up the fabulous work everyone.
Our Tennis Hotshots in the Junior school are having lots of fun during their Wednesday lunchtime sessions. They are enjoying learning and improving their tennis skills.
After a year of lots of cancellations, it was fantastic that Ruby Young Y10 and Emma Mason Y10 played in the Masters' Tennis Tournament last weekend in Hamilton.
Congratulations to Abby Mason who was named our Sportswoman of the Year. She describes her year as;“ Pretty quiet compared to last year. Her main achievements this year were,

- J4 ITF (International Tennis Federation) finalist singles in Wellington, January

- 2 J5 ITF doubles titles in the last holidays

My best experiences and memories would definitely be from last year, when I was fortunate enough to travel to the Pacific Islands and Thailand representing New Zealand, in addition to winning a J5 ITF singles title in Singapore last August. I was lucky enough to have some incredible experiences overseas, where the hot conditions are particularly challenging and are a real test of resilience and mental strength! I also found these events very eye-opening, as I was able to spend some valuable time in less fortunate countries than New Zealand. Unfortunately, all international tournaments overseas are too hard to get to at the moment, but fingers crossed I will be able to make it as far as Australia next year! “

Touch
Term 4 Year 7 & 8 Touch Rugby
This term we have four teams entered into the Touch Rugby competition at STAC on a Friday afternoon. We have a great group of coaches who are either old girls or senior students, and they are doing a fantastic job of leading our girls and creating a positive culture on the field.
The competition caters for those new to the game who are wanting to develop new skills through to the more competitive players who have a bit more experience behind them and have a few tricks to try out on the field.
The teams have been rewarded with some positive results and the girls display great sportsmanship on and off the field.
Jo Wilkinson

Water Polo
The 2020 South Island Y7 and 8 Waterpolo Championship was held in Dunedin from 30th October to 1st November. Twelve teams from Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago and Southland represented various schools at the tournament. Alice Jefferies Year 5 and Aneira Salt Year 8 represented St Margaret's College in a Canterbury Combined Team. They both played very well and the team went through the tournament unbeaten. Unfortunately, combined teams were unable to go through to the top four and so they finished 5th. It is pleasing to note that the team also won against the 2nd place Cobham Intermediate team during the tournament with Christ the King taking out gold, also having been unbeaten during the tournament and currently unbeaten in 2020.
Aneira writes; “Last weekend, I travelled to Dunedin for an intermediate South Island Water Polo tournament. It went really well! We placed 5th as we weren’t allowed to place in the top three. This experience helped me further develop my Water Polo skills. I really enjoyed being with people from other schools and making new friends. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to do this.”