Sport Handbook 2024

SPORT • HĀKINAKINA

INSPIRING OPPORTUNITY

Sport at Rangi Ruru is as much about participation and fun as it is about competition, challenge and success at the top level.

If there is one word that encapsulates sport here, it would be “opportunity”. The essence of sport in our kura is found in the opportunities which are provided for our ākonga to find their sporting north—the activity or sport which inspires them—and for them to be the very best they can be.

We have a very proud tradition of sporting excellence and participation. Our teams consistently perform highly on the local and national stage, and numerous students represent Canterbury or New Zealand. Aside from these individual and team successes, we consistently achieve participation rates that sit above 85%, indicating a tradition of not just achievement, but also involvement at all levels.

Our focus is on offering opportunities that support our students to flourish as athletes but equally, if not more importantly, as people. Our extensive network of coaches, managers and convenors are committed and passionate about supporting all our rangatahi in their sporting journeys—whatever they might be, and wherever they might go.

Whether sport is about fellowship, excellence, enjoyment or passion, sport at Rangi Ruru is about sport for life.

MANDY ANDERSON Director of Sport

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SOME 2023 SPORT ACHIEVEMENTS

• NZSS Rowing Championships: Top school and top sweep school in NZ for the third year in a row; Made history at Maadi achieving 1st and 2nd in the U18 8+

• Canterbury Secondary Schools and SISS Water polo: winners; NZSS Water polo Championships: 5th

• NZSS Mountain Biking Champs: U15 2nd; South Island Secondary Schools Championships – Downhill: U15 1st, U17 1st, U20 2nd; XC: U15 1st, U17 1st

• Connectics SSP Hockey Championships: champions; Federation Cup: 6th; SSL Hockey Championships: 2nd; Chris Arthur Cup: 5th; CAIMS Hockey: 3rd

• SISS Adventure Racing: 5th; Hillary Challenge: 9th

• SuperNet: reserve winners

• NZSS Track & Field: 4 x gold, 3 x silver, 1 x bronze; Canterbury SS Athletics Championships: 10 x gold, 9 x silver, 3 x bronze; South Island SS Athletics Championships: 6 x gold, 2 x silver, 1 x bronze

• Canterbury Secondary School Junior Badminton Championships: silver in singles & doubles; CAIMS Badminton: 2nd; Koru Games: 1st

• SISS Road Cycling Championships: 1st TTT Year7/8, U16 & U20, individual time trial and road race podiums, Hayden Godfrey Challenge Cup – Highest Points over ALL schools; Christchurch Schools’ Cycling Competition: top girls’ school and top overall school; Southern Tour: National placings in individual time trial and criterium, podium placings in U15, U17 and U20

• SISS Dragon Boating Championships: Top performing school in 500m and champion school overall

• SISS Equestrian Tournament: Gold Team – Reserve Champion Dressage, 3 x individual champions, two riders named in ESNZ High Performance Talent Squad

• Connetics Girls’ Premier School Football Competition: 5th (winner plate final); CAIMS Football: 3rd

• Christchurch Secondary Schools Rugby Competition: 3rd – combined team

• Canterbury Condors Tournament: 5th

NZSS Triathlon, Aquathon, Duathlon: golds and bronze; NZSS Sprint Team Relay: silver

• SISS Junior Volleyball Championships: 10th; Canterbury Junior Volleyball Championships: 6th

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SPORT AT RANGI RURU

COACHES

Our coaches continue to be the foundation of the quality sporting programme that we offer. This is true across our Years 7 to 13 programme, with experienced coaches appointed to teams across year levels. We believe investing in our coaches allows our students to be exposed to invaluable experience which assists them with the skills, mentoring and development that they need to achieve their sporting aspirations. Our coaches include a mix of current and former New Zealand representatives, with 20 of our coaches being either current or previous regional, national or international representatives.

OUR WRAP AROUND SUPPORT & FACILITIES

Mental Skills coaching is a key component of the sports programme. Students are able to have one-on-one or team sessions with coach, Paula Rule, focused on improving their growth, development and performance through understanding themselves and their environment by creating the mindset to be their best selves.

On-campus facilities including the waterbased hockey turf, hard courts, heated pool and Atawhai sport and multi-purpose centre, complete with fitness centre and on-site physio, provide opportunities for teams and individuals to train at school.

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OUR ATHLETES

KAIYAH RATU

RANGI RURU STUDENT ATHLETE

WHAT SPORTS ARE YOU INVOLVED IN?

“I have been in the Rangi Ruru 1st XI hockey team since 2021, and for softball I am in the Canterbury U17s, Canterbury U19s, Canterbury Women’s Team, New Zealand U18s, the New Zealand Women’s Catching Team and New Zealand women’s squad.”

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT SPORT AND WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF YOUR PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUR CHOSEN CODES?

“I really enjoy sports because of the opportunities you are given and the friendships made along the way. I have made a lot of friends and they’re all-over New Zealand, so it’s pretty cool. The biggest highlight of my career so far would be winning a national title for Canterbury and getting the opportunity to represent my country in softball. It made me feel absolutely amazing, there’s no words to explain it. It was just amazing.”

HOW ARE YOU ENABLED TO BE YOUR BEST IN YOUR SPORTS AT RANGI RURU?

“Rangi has helped me a lot. The culture here is incredible, all the teachers and coaches are very supportive and nice and make sure I am okay with everything.

“I thought one of the biggest challenges for me was going to be fitting in schoolwork and sport at the same time but with the help I’m getting, it’s actually a lot easier than I had expected it to be. The teachers and coaches are always pushing for their girls to always be their best and be better than before and it’s very empowering. I feel like I am getting the opportunity to be my best and it’s building me as a girl.”

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SPORT AT RANGI RURU

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

In our top-class fitness centre over 100 students each week take part in structured strength & conditioning (S&C) programmes throughout the year. S&C assists students to become stronger and helps them to be better prepared to take on the demands of their sport. While students might view their strength and conditioning sessions to be about being fitter, the true value is reflected in the reduced injury rate, particularly significant knee injuries.

REGULAR WELLNESS MONITORING

Throughout each term, our coaching and sports staff monitor how our athletes are doing. This provides opportunities for our team to initiate conversations with students who are negotiating the study/school/ sport/life balance on a weekly and sometimes daily basis.

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OUR ALUMNAE

ABBEY MOODY

CLASS OF 2018 AND 2022 OUTSTANDING SPORTSWOMAN AWARD WINNER

TELL US ABOUT YOUR SPORTING JOURNEY IN YOUR TIME AT RANGI RURU.

“In 2021, I moved to Rangi Ruru to complete my last two years of high school, knowing it would provide further opportunities in both water polo and track and field. I set myself sports and academic goals and from

WHAT WAS OR WHO WERE SIGNIFICANT IN HELPING YOU IN YOUR SPORTING JOURNEY AT RANGI RURU?

“The entire sporting department were amazing, providing support and guidance towards my aspirations. There was always someone I could reach out to. The Director of Sport, Mandy Anderson, had a significant impact on my success. Alongside being manager of the water polo team, overall, Mandy made my transition into a new school easy. My sporting journey through my last two years wasn’t a walk in the park, experiencing an injury that took me out for the last half of my final year. Paula Rule was incredible in helping me through this, for which I am extremely grateful.”

HOW WERE YOU ENABLED TO BE YOUR BEST IN YOUR SPORTS AT RANGI RURU?

“Academia has always been very important to me, but this has never been easy to balance with training and competing in two sports, especially with travelling during school time. Rangi Ruru allowed me to achieve both, the teachers helped me to excel academically while I continued my sport at a high level. I never once felt limited to what I could achieve.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS SPECIAL ABOUT

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S.O.A.R SUPPORTING OUTSTANDING ATHLETES AT RANGI RURU

S.O.A.R (Supporting Outstanding Athletes at Rangi) is a unique sports programme aimed at enriching the experiences of athletes at Rangi Ruru. This is achieved though strengthening each athlete’s connection with self, others and community.

Connection with self is developed through fostering a strength focused approach to sport and life as well as the development of selfawareness.

Connection with others is based around the connection with people in the S.O.A.R programme. Through the sharing of experiences, participants find common ground which helps to create an environment where athletes support and learn from each other, allowing maximum growth and development.

Connection with community understanding the unique requirements of each athlete enables the program to establish connections within the Rangi Ruru and wider community. Our goal is to link athletes with individuals, opportunities, or organisations that can enhance their sporting journey.

Together with the S.O.A.R convenor, participants will create an ADP (Athlete Development Plan) which will align with their PDP (Personal Development Plan) profiles and be an evolving document throughout the year.

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To ensure we are providing the best experience, athletes can select key offerings which they believe will add the most value and growth to their experience in the programme. These include, but are not limited to:

• Mental skills sessions

• 1:1 strength and conditioning consult

• Nutrition support

• Time management and organisational skills

• Wellness monitoring

• Body Balance Assessment with Balance Physio

• Sport specific mentoring

• Leadership training

• Media liaison

• Drug Free Sport NZ Education

Mā te huruhuru ka

rere te manu

Adorn the bird with feathers so it may soar

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SPORTS ON OFFER

Each year up to 25 different sporting options are on offer to Rangi Ruru students. In all options, ākonga can participate either on a social or a highly competitive level.

The current offerings include:

• Adventure Racing

• Athletics

• Badminton

• Basketball

• Cricket

• Cross Country

• Cycling

• Dragon Boating

• Equestrian (Polo, Show Jumping, Mounted Games, Dressage)

• Football

• Futsal

• Hockey

• Indoor Football and Netball

• Lifesaving

• Mountain Biking

• Multisport (Duathlon & Triathlon)

• Netball

• Rowing

• Rugby/Rugby 7s

• Snow Sports

• Surfing

• Swimming

• Tennis

• Touch

• Volleyball

• Waterpolo

Additionally, students can represent the school at Canterbury, South Island and New Zealand secondary school events in sports which are not directly offered and will also have access to resources such as Mental Performance and Strength and Conditioning to support their sporting or physical activity aspirations.

Years 7 and 8 students have the ability to take part in many of the above weekly sport opportunities alongside students in Years 9 to 13. As members of the Canterbury Association of Intermediate and Middle Schools (CAIMS) network, Years 7 and 8 students also have the opportunity to compete against other larger intermediate schools on a weekly basis throughout Terms 2 to 4.

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