A Range of Opportunities

Giving every student a chance to gi ve as m a n y s p or ts as possible a go has been the key to the success of this year’s Y e a r s 7 an d 8 sports programme • Words by Anna Waghorn SPORTS CO-ORDINATOR Sports Co-ordinator, Anna Waghorn with 10A Netball Team A RANGE OF OPPORTUNITIES

While the emphasis has been on participation, we have also given the students the opportunity to progress their skills with first-class coaching from the schools elite Rangi Ruru coaches. No matter what an individual student’s level of ability or skills, we have provided an opportunity for everyone to be challenged, inspired and empowered through sport by offering a range of opportunities.

We have tracked the progress of each student and identified the skill development required. As a result, our students have been able to further enhance their skills, which will be invaluable as they further develop in their chosen sporting codes. We have made sure that the sports programme has offered a meaningful learning experience for all students, providing a lot of opportunities for skill development.

We were fortunate to start Term One by giving everyone a chance to try a sport they were familiar with. Professional coaching was provided in Frisbee by Canterbury Ultimate Frisbee, Tennis by the Waimari Tennis Club and Cricket by Canterbury Cricket. With the Athletics Sports as one of the first events on our annual sporting calendar, we focused on Athletics - running, jumping, and throwing all of which provide a foundation for all sports. The COVID-19 lockdown caused an unwelcome disruption to our programme. Even in the immediate aftermath of the lockdown, outside opportunities were limited as many interschool competitions were cancelled.

We seized the opportunity to provide our students with professional coaching in preparation for their winter codes. Students selected their chosen sport and then participated in a skillsbased programme for six weeks. The aim was to encourage students to commit to their chosen sport and gain greater knowledge and understanding of their chosen code. They could either apply the skills learnt to their winter codes and prepare them for the new season or ignite their passion for a new sport in a team environment, working within the same group each session.

A highlight of this year’s programme was bringing in our senior coaches to provide our Year 7 and 8 students with expert coaching.

The coaching line-up this year, included Aaron Ford our 1st X1 Hockey Coach and NZ Hockey Performance Coach, Samon Nathan from the Tactix Netball franchise, Annalie Longo a Football Fern and our own ex-student Ashlee Strawbridge who was selected in the Junior Tall Ferns.

After six weeks of coaching, the students then competed in a Canterbury Intermediate (CAIMS) Winter Sport Competition. We competed with four Badminton teams, three Hockey teams, two Netball teams and for the first time, a Football team. The students thrived on these opportunities and at the end of Term Three, we had four teams compete in a CAIMS tournament across three days, an interschool opportunity that only a few teams across the school had due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Our sporting endeavours continued to Term Four with the focus on skill development. We have two Korfball teams competing in the CAIMS weekly competition and Canterbury Cricket returns to the school offering their “YEAH Girls” programme. Another exciting opportunity is the Volleyball development programme run by Sandra Matenga, with the assistance from our senior Volleyball students.

During the year, students have represented the school in Swimming, Gymnastics, Huxster Mountain Biking, Tennis, and Athletics (Term Four). Our Water Polo team which competes on Friday nights was growing in skills every week. Other teams in competitions include the Friday night Basketball teams and Touch teams in Terms One and Four on a Friday after school. A Tennis team competed in the CAIMS tournament in Term One. We also have Fencing, Horse Riding, running training, swimming training and tennis lessons available.

It is such a joy to see the progress and enjoyment that students get from participating in their sport programme which offers something for everyone. I look forward to following their progress to their next level of competition or participation.