On Tuesday August 9th, Waitaki Girls' High School took 10 teams of four or five players each to Timaru to take part in the Aoraki SS tournament.

This tournament was a great opportunity for players who had been training all season to put their skills into practice. As there is no local competition for badminton in Oamaru it is difficult for our players to play games of badminton against other schools so this was a big challenge for them. Each team played four or five matches involving both singles and doubles over the day against schools from Oamaru, Timaru and Aoraki country schools. The competition was tough and the day was exhausting for the players but Waitaki played strongly to achieve great results.

The Senior Red team of Jordyn Phillips, Olivia Hamilton, Georgia Hawkins, Casey Kinns and Jorgie McDiarmid-Jones won the A Grade for the fourteenth time in a row. Jordyn was the top player at the tournament winning all her games at Number 1. The Senior Black team of Renee Stenning, Jorja Belt, Emma Fox and Abby Rowland were second in the A Grade after a very close final match with the Red team. This was a strong performance for both these teams beating Ashburton 1 and 2, Craighead and Mountainview on the way to the final.

Waitaki also did well in the B Grade with the White team of Kate Mortimer, Maddy Phillips, Mackenzie Wilson and Ella Symes winning the play-off against the Blue team of Micayla Fox, Shannon Burnett, Emma Meikle, Hannah Tiffen and Anika Hayes. Also in the B Grade, Waitaki Orange won all their games.

The girls represented Waitaki Girls' High School superbly and looked great in their uniforms. They all played really hard and improved their skills heaps. Thanks very much to Mrs Corlet for her help and support over the day.

Well done girls!