Congratulations to all the 2018 Young Sportsperson of the Year finalists: Category Finalist School *Aktive Student Coach of the Year Cain Nuttall Westlake Boys High School *Aktive Student Official of the Year Ben Matthews Long Bay College *Aktive Student Official of the Year Devyn Showler Westlake Boys High School *Aktive Student Official of the Year Joseph Green James Cook High School *All Rounder Michael Graham Sacred Heart College *All Rounder Bernadette Doyle St Cuthbert’s College *All Rounder Jaymie Kolose Saint Kentigern College *All Rounder Lisa Putt Saint Kentigern College *All…
Read MoreMonth: October 2018
Aon NZ U15 Basketball teams named for Oceania Champs
Basketball New Zealand has named the Aon New Zealand Girls basketball team to compete in the FIBA Oceania U15 Championships in December this year, to be held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. This comes after a selection camp held over Labour Weekend. Head Coach of the girls’ team, Natalie Visger, says it was tough to narrow the team to 12 players. “This was a very prepared group coming into camp, super switched-on and competitive. Girls in New Zealand are starting to choose basketball earlier and it showed at camp…
Read MoreWaiuku 1st XI Girls Cricket team tour Rarotonga
This year, the Waiuku College 1st XI Girls Cricket team were lucky enough to tour the beautiful island of Rarotonga for six days. The visit involved games against both invitational and development teams which allowed both groups to enrich their skills and knowledge of cricket. The games were “challenging but also fun, valuable and played in high spirits including one that went into the dark” said coach Jason Hammersley. The girls also enjoyed the beautiful sights and sounds that Rarotonga had to offer, including swimming in the crystal clear waters,…
Read MoreBalanced squad named for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
New Zealand Football: New Zealand U-17 Women’s Head Coach Leon Birnie has named a balanced squad for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay next month. The 21-player squad includes Football Ferns goalkeeper Anna Leat and three other players in Gabrielle Rennie, Aneka Mittendorf and Maggie Jenkins who represented New Zealand at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in August. Birnie believes his squad will be well prepared to handle the challenge of Finland, hosts Uruguay and Ghana in the tournament that will be staged in three host cities…
Read MoreTayla Earle named NZSS Netball Player of the Year
Netball New Zealand: New Zealand Secondary School Player of the Year, Tayla Earle, believes the national tournament has been an ideal launching pad for her blossoming netball career. And the 18-year-old will find out next year just how well she is prepared for that next step when she suits up for the ANZ Premiership after gaining a contract with the SKYCITY Mystics. Her signing for next year’s elite domestic league follows three appearances at the Pita Pit NZ Secondary School Championships where she wore the blue dress of Saint Kentigern…
Read MoreDiscus thrower Connor Bell dominates the field to take Youth Olympic Games gold
New Zealand Olympic Committee: Connor Bell once conceded he was a ‘big kid who liked to play PlayStation’ – now he is a discus Youth Olympic Games champion after completing the performance of his life. “I am absolutely stoked with how I went out there,” Bell said. “I just feel like I’ve done an awesome job, coming out here and performing in front of the world’s best and I did so well and I’m just really proud of myself.” It took two days and an average score of 133.08, from…
Read MoreMAGS win sixth NZSS netball title
Netball New Zealand: Mount Albert Grammar School has climbed their way back to the top of New Zealand’s secondary school dais adding to their rich history in school Netball. MAGS led from start to finish in a tough Pita Pit NZ Secondary Schools Netball Championship grand final to beat Westlake Girls’ High School 32-23 at the Southern Trust Events Centre in Timaru. Co-coach Sarah Hann said she was delighted with the final result after what had been a tough week-long tournament. MAGS comfortably reached the championship top eight but the…
Read MoreFirst ARL Gateway Programme wraps up
Auckland Rugby League: Sixteen Auckland secondary school students have this week become the first graduates of the Auckland Rugby League Growing Coaches Gateway Programme. The students came from Tamaki College, Western Springs College, Onehunga High School and Tuakau College, and had the opportunity to earn 12 NCEA credits by taking part in the programme. Across the three days, students were taught fundamentals of coaching and leadership at the Mt Albert Rugby League Club, before gaining practical coaching experience at the ARL’s Holiday Blast event held at Cornwall Park. On the…
Read MoreStrong start for some at Pita Pit NZSS Netball Championships
Netball New Zealand Former champions Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS) have made their intentions clear from the opening whistles of the Pita Pit NZ Secondary School Championships. The five-time champion school mean business after netting two emphatic wins on the first day of the national netball event at Southern Trust Events Centre in Timaru. MAGS opened its campaign in convincing style with a 56-27 victory over St Hilda’s Collegiate which it backed up later in the day by beating Villa Maria 54-28. They have kept their opponents to single digit…
Read MoreRichie McCaw shares his top tips for success with young leaders
Seven Sharp: There’s no question that plenty of kids look up to Richie McCaw and dream of the kind of success he’s had. So, you can imagine how stoked 800 odd secondary students were today when the man himself shared his own leadership lessons at the Kids with Character Empower Me Leadership seminar in Auckland. TVNZ1’s Seven Sharp asked him what his top tips were for kids. Tip 1: “The first one that I really live by is that you can’t go past hard work, if you think it’s going…
Read More