Winter tournament was a very busy week for our Kura. We had seven different sports representing us at some stage during the week. We came away with three team medals and one individual medal. Overall, it was a successful tournament week.

Basketball

Juniors - The juniors began their tournament on Saturday and were the first to represent Tauranga Girls’ College. They started the day with a win against Mount Maunganui. Throughout the tournament, they came up against tough competition but came away with four wins, finishing second in the pool and a spot in the semi-finals. After a tough-fought win against Te Kura O Te Koutu in the semi-finals, they went to the finals and up against Mount Maunganui again. Thankfully, coming away with an impressive win of 64 - 37! Gold medals for our juniors.

Seniors - The seniors began their tournament on Wednesday and had the pressure of following in the junior's successful footsteps. They started with an impressive 108-35 win against Gisborne Girls’ High School and finished pool play with four wins, which put them in second place. This gave them a semi-final against St. Peters, and with another win, they were into the final. Late Saturday night, after an intense few days, they were up against Hamilton Girls’ High School, which is always a tough game, but one they knew they could win. And they did just that with a 72-69 win! Which means double Gold for our Tauranga Girls’ College Basketball!

Football

Given the age and experience of the Premier Girls football team, they achieved a credible result of twenty-seventh out of the Top 32 schools in NZ. Having drawn a tough pool, they came third, with the two Auckland schools - Auckland Dio and Rangitoto - topping the pool. Dio and Rangitoto finished in the Top 8 of the competition. Crucially, they lost two key players to injury in the critical playoff game for the Top 24. The Tauranga Girls’ College team won three out of six games and finished the tournament well with an exciting 7-6 win on penalties versus Glendowie College. They gave it all to the end and were a credit to themselves and the school. Tauranga Girls’ College Golden Boot went to Janee Fraser, and Tauranga Girls’ College Player of the tournament went to Tori Hill.

Hockey

First XI - Down in Palmerston North, the first XI had an intense tournament with seven games in five days, but this didn’t stop the team. Although they started the tournament with a loss, they returned in the next couple of games with wins, one of which was an impressive 6-nil win. They had four wins and three losses throughout the week, finishing sixth overall.

Second XI - All the way up in Whangarei, after a long day of travelling to get there, the second XI started their tournament with two great games: a 5-nil win and a 6-2 win. The week continued with a winning streak, and the team played well together. Their winning streak didn’t end until the finals with a hard-fought game against Marist, just missing out on the win by two goals. But they still got to take home the Silver Medals!

Netball

The highlight of the Netball season is getting to take on the best of the Upper North Island at UNISS. With a tough pool having to play Epsom Girls’ Grammar and Mount Albert as their first two games, they unfortunately didn’t win these games but were able to win their next game against Morrinsville. There were another few wins throughout the week and some close losses. Finishing on a very close final game win of 27-26 against Kristin, they finished twenty-first overall.

Rock Climbing

Two students competed in the NZSS Rock Climbing event held here in Tauranga. Both Amy Haig and Katelyn Watson had a good two days competing. Amy finished tenth in the Senior girls competition, and Katelyn finished fourth in the Junior Girls.

Indoor Bowls

There were two days of competition for our four Indoor bowls students. They began the event with Singles on Monday. After the first round of games, Chloe Edwards qualified for the Cup Event, and Jas Neale, Eilidh Duncan and Sophie Stockdill competed in the Plate Event. Chloe went on to finish third equal and took home a Bronze Medal! Great result. Sophie also got a Bronze Medal in the Plate Event. Fantastic first day for these students. The next day, they participated in the pairs event. They all played really well, but unfortunately, the competition was high, so we were unable to place. These students had two days of great games.

Equestrian

Izzy Sanders competed in the North Island Equestrian event in Taupo from Monday to Thursday. She competed in seven events throughout the week. She had a great week of events and was very happy with her overall performance. These events ranged from trail riding to show jumping and dressage.