Havelock North High had 4 teams entered in the
Secondary Schools Squash competition;- Two senior boys’
teams, a junior boys’ team and a girls’ A team. The students
involved were fantastic, well organized and competitive.
The girls’ A team; Cailtin King, Libby Rainger, Paris Mayberry
and Leah Morrison, had the greatest success coming
runner-up in the Hawke’s Bay competition, which was
outstanding considering they were a team of beginners.
Their commitment and fair play was exemplary. The junior
boys’ team; Richard Russell, Robert Fridd, Harry Young and
Ronan Jordan, were placed 3rd in their grade which was
fantastic. They are a talented group of year 9 individuals
who are highly motivated and keen to go up the grades.
Our senior boys’ teams had mixed success but they enjoyed
their season. We are looking forward to the 2014 season.
We Played, We Smiled, We Supported, We Conquered’
In 2013, Havelock North High School table tennis
enthusiasts had a very successful and enjoyable year.
There was much enthusiasm and great participation for
Friday lunchtime practices, at times more participation
and a little less enthusiasm may have been more
productive.
We managed to field nine teams of three players in the
Hawke’s Bay Table Tennis Association tournament run
over an eight week period in Napier. This tournament
has three grades and we were superbly represented
in all of the grades. Our teams were an excellent mix of
nationalities, personalities and experience. Competition
from surrounding high schools was fierce as was the
weather for most Tuesday nights and the constant
battle against the ever-lurking flu. However, we battled
on and I am extremely pleased to report the epic trio
of HNHS’s dynamo Year 10’s, Joe Kinvig, Xian Hao Lu
and Jack Roberts (J.J.K) overcame a determined team of
Year 13 players to win the A Grade title and retain the
coveted Earle Denford Shield. Adding to that success,
the amazing Triple T’s consisting of Saskia Berger, Akane
Hirose and Becca Whitnell, ably supported by Thomas
Hensman, Miyu Matsuwaka and Mitch Webber were the
runners up in C Grade.
A huge thank you to Hashats, J.J.K, Team Pineapple,
Team Asians, 2-J-T, Terminators, The Triple T’s, The Team
and MTD – you were all champions! The highlight for
me was seeing the way you supported each other and
represented our school with pride. Also a huge thank
you to family, friends and supporters who made sure our
athletes were at the right place at the right time and for
your support watching teams on tournament nights.
Looking forward to further table tennis adventures in
2014
The school swimming sports in February are always the first
event where the Houses get to let off steam and conjure up
support. A nice day this year saw a full meeting, and as usual
the stars floated to the top. There were no Smit’s this year,
so other swimmers had an opportunity to win titles. After the
last ‘bomb’ was completed, it was Kauri who had won the
honours again this year. A trophy, resurrected from the 1990’s
was once again able to be presented.
There was one record broken this year, and that was by
German exchange student Sebastian Feller, who broke the
33m intermediate butterfly record. He also won all the other
events and unsurprisingly was the intermediate champion.
James Cruickshank retained his senior title, while the girls’
senior title was shared by Rebecca Sinclair and Jaime Gray.
Alexia Hinton (intermediate), Arcadia Dalzell and Hunter
Burns (junior) were the other champions.
The Flaxmere Pool was undergoing renovations,
consequently the HBSS champs were held in mid May. It was
very difficult to gain enough enthusiasm at that time of the
year to get many entries from the school. Alexia Hinton was
the star, winning the 25m butterfly and placing 3rd in the
50m butterfly in her 14/15yo age group. She also contested
the 100m individual medley, where she finished 4th. Joseph
Belcher was our other podium finisher, with a fine second in
the 13 and under 50m butterfly. Hopefully next year we can
be back to a larger team.