Congratulations to all SMC teams that were competing at winter sport tournaments last week across the South Island.

Congratulations to the Basketball Snr A and Netball Snr A who have qualified to attend the National tournaments in the school holidays. Please send any sporting news and achievements to sport@stmargarets.school.nz, as we love to hear what our girls are getting up to both in and outside of school!

Badminton
The SMC Badminton team competed in the Canterbury Secondary School champs last week in Christchurch. eight students competed across the champs and cup events.

Congratulations to Amanda Yang who won the Year 9/10 Cup Singles, Anne Porteous who won the Year 9/10 Cup singles plate, and Zoe Yang who won the Year 11- 13 Championship plate.

The girls had a great time attending the event, the older girls supported the younger players who were new to the sport - great to see comradeship and girls growing confidence. Thanks to the parents who helped supervise and support the team.  

 Basketball
The Senior A Basketball team travelled to Dunedin to attend the Zone 4 Basketball tournament. The team faced a tough pool with strong competition to get through to the top 8. The team fell short against James Hargest but managed to secure good wins against Kaiapoi and Ashburton to make it through. In the quarter-final they faced CGHS and won convincingly. The semi-final was against Rangiora High School where the girls put up a strong fight but were unable to get the win.

The team came away in 3rd place securing a place to attend the NZSS AA Nationals in Palmerston North. This is a great result and something that has not been achieved in a very long time. Thanks to the management team of Phil, Carolyn, and Emily for all their support to the team. We wish you all the best at the Nationals against the top 24 schools in NZ. 
SMC Senior A Basketball tournament team: Gaby Swan, Izzy Brook, Charlotte Coughlan, Evie Leeson, Lucie Davis, Gracie Haigh, Ellese Haigh, Hayley Sparks, Ivy Brown and Nevaeh Dunn.

Cycling
Emma Crawford recently competed at the start of tournament week including the Skoda Southern Tour in Marlborough. Congratulations on your awesome results!

- NZ School Crit U14 National Champion

- NZ School Individual Time Trial U14 National Champion

- Southern Tour U14G Overall Winner

- Southern Tour U14G Sprint Ace Winner

- Southern Tour U14G Queen of the Mountain

- Southern Tour All Four Stage wins

Equestrian
SMC entered riders into the SISS Equestrian Champs at McLeans Island during tournament week, the girls competed in Dressage, Eventing, Show Jumper, and Show Hunter events. Thanks to SMC Equestrian coaches Emily and Anna and the parents and families for supporting the girls and their ponies.

Students who attended included Sophie Gibb, Lexi Patchett, Emma Whitaker, Annabel Dampier-Crossley, Olivia Cooney, and Layla Anderson.

Fencing
Mika Neil traveled to Wellington during tournament week to attend the NZSS Fencing Champs. Mika placed 8th in the individual and was part of the Mid-South A team that placed 2nd. Congratulations Mika on your selection into the New Zealand team that is travelling to Tahiti to compete in the U17 Oceania championships, as the only student from the South Island selected. - Well done!

Football
The SMC 1st XI Football team travelled to Timaru during tournament week to compete in the Lotto Football Tournament. There were a few injuries prior to the tournament with some additional players added. The team had a great week away playing exceptional football ending with some good wins and close losses. The team finished 6th overall. A special thanks to Nick, Keith, and Robyn for coaching and managing the team.

Hockey - 1st XI
The SMC 1st XI Hockey had an awesome week at tournament and made the most of our home turf advantage with Fed Cup in Christchurch for the first time since 2010. We had strong early wins against Carmel College and King's College with the Auckland teams unable to match the blistering pace of our girls.

A draw with Lincoln High School saw us finish second in our pool, advancing comfortably into the top 16. A great win against Wellington Girls propelled SMC into the top 8 where we faced tough matchups against regular rivals CGHS and Rangi, both of which we lost 2-1 in incredibly tight matches. The girls fought hard all week and their 7th-place finish after a dramatic shootout win against St Peter's is a testament to their grit. The top eight teams in the tournament were all incredibly close with most games finishing within one goal or going to shootouts.

The SMC 1st XI represented the school with pride and played their hearts out - a fitting send-off for the eight Year 13 girls in the team, especially co-captains Phoebe and Sorell who have now played in the red dress for four years. Thanks to Sunjay, Ben, and Sophie for coaching and managing the team. We wish you all the best Sophie and thank you for your amazing support.

SMC 1st XI Hockey Team - Annie Airey, Neve Ballin, Ally Booth, Sophie Booth, Elysie Calder, Margo Dalling, Amelia Frew, Zara Gamble, Paris Hague, Courtney Illiffe, Poppy McNeill, Tilly O’Donnell, Sorell Shand, Phoebe Spear, Lauren Warne, Poppy Williams, Lily Young, Elise Hampton.

Hockey - 2nd XI
Tournament started for our 2nd XI hockey team with everyone sharing their hockey history on Sunday night - we all held our own piece of wool while sharing these stories and these were then woven into the ‘plaited rope thingy’ which became the team's special icon for the week. It was used to calm nerves, ‘reset’ players during breaks in the game, and even joined the group for fines sessions each night.

The mighty 2nds had an excellent week in Ashburton both on and off the field. The team clicked and played some excellent, structured hockey. One of our team's main focuses was to play for one another and bring a high tempo from the beginning, which we built on throughout the week and helped us get to the final. Each player stepped up and had their wow moments ensuring that we reached our goal of making the top two in the tournament.

Finals day started well with Coach K’s infamous pre-game dip in Lake Hood fulfilling a promise. It was a hard-fought game with a nil-all score at the end of full-time. Unfortunately, the shoot-out did not go our way with St Cuthbert’s winning 2 - 3 and taking the Chris Arthur Cup back to Auckland. However, we are all super proud of our silver medals and know that we have continued our school's excellent legacy at this national 2nd XI-only tournament. 

Some thank yous…The team would like to give a big thank you to our supporters for the season especially those who traveled down to Ashburton during tournament week to cheer us on in the sunshine. Your support truly enabled us to perform to the best of our abilities. We would also like to acknowledge our two Year 13 players, Amelia and Victoria. You have been a special part of the team in 2023 and we thank you for your commitment to SMC hockey over the last five years. You both will always have a lasting impact on us and we hope you continue your hockey journey outside of SMC.

Miss Englebretsen; thank you for your work as our manager during the season. We appreciate you sharing your knowledge and supporting us when the going gets tough.

Mrs Shannahan; you do an awesome job supporting all SMC hockey players and it was wonderful having you with us during tournament week as well. Thank you for taking time away from your own family to support our team. 

Finally, a massive thank you to Coach K. Kelvin came in halfway through the season to coach us after Lottie went on an adventure to the United Kingdom. From the beginning, he stated he wanted a strong team culture so as a team we set goals for the rest of the season. Kelvin then took that all on board and helped us come together as a unit using many different creative ideas. During the local school’s competition and tournament week, Kelvin helped us step outside our comfort zone to try new things. We each developed not only as players but as people, connecting in different ways during games and challenges. Thank you on behalf of the whole team for all the time and effort you put into coaching us this year.

SMC 2nd XI Hockey Team - Lily Ballin, Victoria de Costobadie, Payton Edmundson, Amelia Gibbons, Charlotte Giles, Holly Griffin, Nina Hayes, Lulu O’Donnell, Bianca Skilton-Woods, Millie Spear, Lily Sutherland, Meg Thyne, Rosa Turner, Lina Chapman, Ciara Hartland, Maya Young

Netball
The SMC Senior A team capped off an impressive tournament week. Not only did they win the Christchurch Netball Premier 2 Competition but traveled down to Invercargill the next day to compete in the SISS Netball Tournament. The team worked their way through the pool play unbeaten with big wins over Taieri, Roncalli, Nelson Girls, Southland Girls, Cromwell, and Otago Girls. The team met STAC for the 6th time this season in the semi-final coming away with a convincing win. The A-grade final was a spectacle, with both SMC and Columba playing some outstanding netball. The game ended in a draw and went into overtime. Columba pipped SMC at the post, winning 30-28. Congratulations to Charlotte, Ivy, and Evie for being named in the A Grade Talented players list.

Thanks to Helen, Jess, and Jo for supporting the team and we look forward to following your results when the team travels to Auckland in the holidays to attend the NZSS Netball Champs against the top 16 schools in NZ.

SMC Senior A Netball Team: Charlotte Coughlan, Ivy Brown, Nevaeh Dunn, Ellese Haigh, Lulu Inglis, Fabriana McQuarrie, Belize McQuarrie, Annie Francis, Milly Farrell, Evie Leeson.