The Oamaru school ranked No 1 in Otago for sport satisfaction in Sport Otago’s 2025 Voice of Rangatahi Survey.
More than half of their student respondents (52%) were highly satisfied with their in-school physical activity experience.
They were also the best in terms of satisfaction of competitive sport (72%) and ranked third in satisfaction with physical education classes (65%).
The results were a great indicator that sport at the school was heading in the right direction, Waitaki Boys’ head of sport Ian Cathcart said.
‘‘The results reflect a lot of the work that Twyla [Kingan, sport co-ordinator] puts in, especially, and where we want to go with sports, just getting as many involved.
‘‘The boys have to enjoy what they’re doing — they have to like it or they’ll just move on to the next thing.
‘‘It has to be fun at the end of the day.’’
Schools could often lose sight of participation in favour of high performance results.
‘‘Although our teams are also competing at a high level, we are also big on the participation side.
‘‘It’s about them creating good habits and building their wellbeing and staying fit.
‘‘Those habits they take into life and I think that’s the most important message for me when it comes to sport and sometimes we forget that.’’ The school offered a range of sports for the students to try, Kingan said. ‘‘The participation numbers every year are really strong — socially and competitively. ‘‘That’s what we want to see. ‘‘There’s something out there for everyone . . .they just need to find what squeels their wheels.’’ Head boy Ned Newlands-Carter was involved with sport at the school and said it was in a great place. ‘‘I’m very passionate about sport and I love sport here.
‘‘At lunch time, you see boys out on the turf. Ever since the addition of that it’s been massive [with] kids out there having fun every single day.
‘‘And then with the competitive sports, it’s great fun, you can see how many people involved and there’s also a social aspect to it.’’
Deputy head boy Isi Manu agreed.
‘‘It’s making new friends and it’s good to get involved and stay active.’’
Cathcart said the turf had been a hit with students ever since it opened in 2022.
‘‘It was Monday [this week] and it was raining, and I was like ‘I’m not going to open the turf today’ but I had, like, 20 boys wanting to get balls and get out there.
‘‘They’re just happy to be out and active.’’
Kingan said the coaches and volunteers played a huge role in helping sport happen at the school.
