Welcome to Sports Awards 2021, my name is Max Sergel-Stringer and I’ve had the absolute pleasure of being joint sport leaders alongside Mitchell Barrett, Kobe Northmore and Ethan Hill. This year for St Thomas sport is one of the greatest for our school. We’ve seen historical seasons throughout the grades and sports. These historical seasons were developed through the themes of brotherhood, manawa and hard work that has grown throughout the lifespan of STC mixed with the high-quality coaches and facilities we as students are blessed with.

Swimming sports and athletics day really tee’d of the school for a successful year. They were two days that exemplified the spirit of our athletes. High participation was observed throughout these days which was testament to the brotherhood that is developed here at St Thomas. Juniors cheering on seniors, seniors cheering on juniors. It was an amazing spectacle. This was only the start of a year that had these strong themes of brotherhood.

You could sense a certain eagerness among the athletes of the school due to last year being a disappointing year when it came sports because of COVID. Unfortunately, again this year we were affected however we were still able to have a healthy share of games before the schedules were interrupted. In this time before the unforeseen outbreak, we saw the blue, red and yellow hit the field in spectacular fashion throughout many sports. This year further solidified our shift from underdogs to being one of the schools to beat. This competitiveness has continued to grow throughout the years. Even after the interruption, we saw the resilience of our teams through the great results respective to their finals. They managed to stay focused through uncertain times and represent the school at high levels. Our top teams reaped success for all their hard work, most notably we saw the 1st V and 1st XV achieve all time highs when it comes to results. The basketball grabbing 3rd in Canterbury and the rugby finishing with their best record. Both incredible achievements and is a testament to what this school is capable, the school is only on the up and I expect all our teams to grab even higher honours in the years coming.

After being told that I was to do this speech, I did what every sports leader has done before me, I began to look back through my time in the colours, reminiscence on the ‘good ol’ days’ as I come to the end of my schooling career. Focusing on different aspects and trying to search for what makes St Thomas sport so crucial. Of course apart from the high quality facilities we are blessed with. After many hours racking the brain and still not being able to truly grasp the special feeling of the STC colours, I went back to the word I had heard a lot and went from there. Brotherhood. And from diving deeper into brotherhood of the schools I came up with the one key thing that I always see. Connections being established. These connections come from every level of competition at the school. From the mighty social teams, 2nd XI and 3rd XV to the top teams. We always see connections whether it be through Coach to Player, Teammate to Teammate, Son to Father, I could go forever. These connections are promoted through the values STC weaves into us at we grow into men. The ability to establish connections that has been taught to us will help in big wide world and especially those aspiring to hit the next stage of performance as athletes.

Before I conclude my speech and we get into the awards I’d like to thank a few people for being integral to this historical year. First of all, I would like to thank the entire sports department. Without you and your specific skills the sport would be lifeless and not as enticing to the young men who enter this school. You are integral to sport and on behalf of all the boys at school, I’d like to thank you all. To all the coaches that have sacrificed their time to help develop our young and promising athletes, every player is in debt to you as you have allowed us to play and blossom. Sport could not run without you. Lastly, to the parents. What would we do without the early brisk morning drives to Hagley Park, your constant support on the sidelines and in the stands and everything in between. I do not have enough time to mention everything you do for us. Thank you for everything you do, you have also allowed us to perform at our best.