From the 17th to the 18th of June, the Tauranga Girls’ College Underwater Hockey team competed at the regional secondary school’s tournament held at Baywave. The team consisted of nine players, ranging from Year 9s to Year 13s. 

Our team lost three games to Mahurangi College, Howick College and Trident High School in fiercely competitive matches on Saturday. We drew with Diocesan College and came away with a win against Glendowie College. 

We were exhausted by the end of the day, but we were up and going early the following morning. On Sunday, we won our first game against Mount Maunganui College, lost in a close game with Epsom Girls Grammar and lost to Diocesan in a tough placing playoff. 

Our team managed to come away with 6th overall. It was a fantastic opportunity for our team to gain new skills, compete against other schools and improve as a team, especially since we had four players who’d only joined this year. While we weren’t quite able to qualify for the National tournament, we hope to continue playing in club tournaments, with a few of our girls going out for Under 18’s later this year. 

Thank you to Hailey Papzrik, Karen Gilby and Haidee Jenkins, who made this tournament possible for our team!