Week 8 had a lot of students competing in variety of sports. Our girls represented the school proudly and got some great results, winning medals and trophies.

Volleyball Nationals

We had both our Senior A and Senior B travel to Palmerston North to compete in the New Zealand Secondary School Championships. Volleyball is a continually growing sport in NZ and the numbers each year at the Nationals are growing and so is the talent. The Senior A girls fought their way to stay in the Top 16 to go into the quarter finals. Unfortunately they came up against a very tough team to get into the Top 8 and just missed out. But overall they finished 15th in New Zealand which is a great result! The Senior B girls competed well in their first pool stages and winning 2 out 3 games but unfortunately due to points overall they missed getting into Division 3. But that didn't stop these girls. They fought hard in Division 4 and made it into the final! The final game was against Massey High School and they had a very evenly matched game making it all the way to 5 sets and just missing out in the end. coming away with Silver medals.  

Our Junior Development team travelled up to Auckland to compete in the North Island Secondary School Volleyball Cup tournament with other senior teams. They played well throughout the week and showed a lot of growth and development in their skills. They finished 15th overall.

Overall the girls had an amazing week and can be pleased with the success they have had. A massive thank you goes out to all the parents, coaches and teachers who have supported these girls in the lead up to this competition.

Maadi Cup - Rowing

The Maadi Cup was held in Lake Karapiro and we had 13 students compete in this event.  A great week of competing as this was the biggest Maadi Cup in New Zealand history with 123 schools participating. With this level of competition, just advancing to the semi-finals is an accomplishment. Brooke Poutawera got 2nd in single scull U18 B final which placed her 10th overall and Danielle Neilson placed 8th-16th overall. Danielle Neilson and Holly Ramsden got 2nd in B final for double sculls and this placed them 10th overall. Maya Wells and Lia Chambers also finished 1st in the double sculls C final - 17th overall. Danielle Neilson also finished 4th in the B final U17 single sculls final. In the U18 coxed quadruple A final our girls placed 6th, this involved Maya Wells, Holly Ramsden, Brooke Poutawera, Lia Chalmers and Riley Andrews. 

Well done to all the girls who competed and we look forward to hearing the results again next year. 

Cricket - Northern Districts

The TGC 1st XI faced some outstanding opponents at the Northern Districts Gillette Venus Qualifiers, in Auckland. Teams scattered with Northern District and New Zealand age group players meant a tough tournament and a massive learning curve for the young team. They were victorious against the favourites Gisborne Girls' High and Morrinsville College with top performances from Elle Archer, Mikyla Keane, Aimee Unwin, Amelia Harvey and Amy Clegg - these two teams were 1st and 2nd at the end of the tournament.

Sarah-Jane Stone's outstanding leadership as captain and opening bowler led to the TGC team placing 3rd overall.  A big thanks to Miss Elmore, Mrs Talbot, Mr Stone and the many other parents who came to Auckland to support our team. 

Basketball 3x3 Nationals

TGC sent 3 teams to NZ Secondary Schools 3x3 Nationals competing in Junior Elite, Senior Open A and Senior Elite. 3x3 is an exciting competition, it is quick transition and accurate shooting as teams have 12 minutes to score 21 points and teams are required to self-manage as no coaching is allowed. Teams from all over New Zealand attended the tournament over four days at Bruce Pulman Arena with a mix of large and small schools competing against each other.

Of note, Juniors went to extra time in three pool games and in the semi-final vs Rotorua. Senior Elite beat finalists Fraser High School in pool play, they were the only team to do this, and both finalists Fraser High School and Queen Margaret were from our pool, showing that the girls had a tough pool play. The final placings were Senior Elite 12th, Senior Open 14th and Junior Elite 6th. 

A big thank you to our coaches, whānau and TGC Sports Department and TGC teachers for all your mahi to help get us to these tournaments and represent our school.

Futsal 

The Junior and Senior Futsal teams headed down to Wellington to compete in the NZSS Futsal Championships. This was a two day event and they came up against various strong teams from all around New Zealand. Juniors finished overall 9th in their competition and the Seniors finished 20th. Great effort girls and a big thank you to the coaches, managers and parents involved.  

Athletics- Waikato Bay of Plenty Championships

On Wednesday 24 March, 14 students competed in the Waikato BOP Championships in Tauranga. There were more great results that came from this event with some top athletes competing. The following girls placed in the top 3 which qualified them to compete in the North Islands held on the 10-11 April in Hamilton. 

Junior girls
Maia Poutawera 1st in 800m and 300m
Tetsani Poroa-Thompson 4th in 300m

Intermediate Girls
Olivia Hala 1st in 800m and 1st in 400m
Saskia Rhind 1st in discus, 2nd in high jump, 2nd in shot put
Abi Wikeepa 3rd equal in 100m final 

Intermediate girls relay team came 3rd (Candice Pretorius, Saskia Rhind, Cerys Adkins and Abi Wikeepa). 

Our other Athletes competed well, just missing out on NISS qualifying. 

Thank you also to Mrs Gardner, and the student helpers and student teacher who helped with the discus throughout the day. 

New Zealand Secondary School Open Water Swimming Championships

There were four girls who competed in the NZSS Open Water Swimming Championships in Rotoura on Saturday 20 March. Sarah Cummings came 2nd in the U19 3.5km round the lake and 12th overall and Lily Pearce came 2nd U19 in the 1km swim, 13th overall. Jess Pilbrow and Trelise Chote were both part of a team that placed 7th overall. 

New Zealand Secondary School White Water Kayaking Championships

Jess Cotterill, Kate Hawthorne and Tess Pateman went to Tekapo to compete in the NZSS White Water Kayaking Championships at the end of March. 

U16
Kate got 1st overall U16 woman, 1st in C1, 2nd in C2 mixed, 1st in C2 U16 with Tess and 1st in K1
Tess 3rd in C1 

U18
Jess got 1st in C2 

The team also came 4th in the C1 mixed team race. 

These girls did so well they also received the trophy for the Top Girls School.