MOUNT ASPIRING COLLEGE
Aria Winter
Sports: Touch, school and representative (U16 and U18) netball, adventure racing/Hillary Challenge, volleyball, basketball, Rippa rugby.
School sport: It has been a big part of secondary school for me. I believe that for many people it is a safe place to be themselves and do what they love, and I have experienced that firsthand. Getting involved in school sports has allowed me to build friendships with lots of different people, and it has pushed me both physically and mentally. Netball has been my biggest involvement at MAC, and the connection I had with each of the girls in my team, this year especially, has been so special. All of them worked hard to make the team and continued to work even harder throughout the season. They challenged themselves at training and games and applied everything our coaches taught us into their game play. It has been so rewarding as a year 13 and co-captain to see each girl strengthen and build on their skill sets, and to be right there alongside them as they did so.
Lessons learnt: In pushing through difficult trainings and working hard on long tournaments away, I have built such amazing connections with others and developed leadership skills, teamwork, and resilience — especially when recovering from injuries. Being involved in a wide range of sports has also pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to try new things, which I believe has taught me how to adapt to new scenarios, and build confidence and perseverance through challenges.
QUEEN’S HIGH SCHOOL
Tessa Gabbott, Rewa Morison, Saige Evans, Hannah Pearce, Yui Ishikawa
Sports: Collectively, we are involved in surfing, hockey, basketball, aerobics, football, gymnastics, futsal, touch, volleyball and cross-country.
School sport: From the very first try-outs to our final games and competitions in our senior year, our journey in our chosen sports has been one of growth, teamwork and personal development. School sport has been a source of balance and motivation. It gave us a reason to stay organised with our academics because we had to manage our time wisely. It also helped us build our confidence, especially during times when academic life felt overwhelming. The field, court, stage, beam, or ocean became a place where we can express ourselves freely and let go of stress. It’s where we have made some of our closest friends, where we learned to win humbly and lose gracefully. It gave us a sense of belonging, especially during tough times.
Lessons learnt: The value of hard work, dedication and perseverance. We have learned how to push through setbacks and come back stronger after a loss. Team sports taught us communication and leadership, while individual events taught us accountability and mental toughness. Most importantly, we learned that success doesn’t always mean winning; it means giving your best and growing from the experience. As we prepare to leave high school, we know we will carry these lessons with us into whatever comes next.
COLUMBA COLLEGE
Charli Sinclair
Sports: Touch, basketball, rugby, sevens.
School sport: The personal value of school sport isn’t just about skill or competition — it’s about the sisterhood it creates. The bonds formed with team-mates, through early mornings, tough training, shared victories and losses, and even getting hyped together before games, are unlike anything you can find elsewhere. These friendships are built on trust, support, and understanding, creating memories that will last a lifetime. School sport has given me not just team-mates, but family, and the connections and memories we’ve made together are truly irreplaceable. Every training session, game and challenge pushed me to step outside my comfort zone and discover what I’m capable of. Sport has given me a sense of purpose and taught me to embrace both success and failure as part of the journey. It’s shown me that growth comes from effort, discipline, and learning from every experience.
Lessons learnt: I’ve discovered the value of teamwork, knowing that supporting each other is just as important as individual performance. I’ve learned to keep my head up, understanding that nothing works well if you’re not clear in your mind — sometimes you need to take a breath, step back, and refocus. Sport has taught me resilience, discipline, and time management, balancing school, training, and games while always striving to improve. Most importantly, I’ve realised that passion and enjoyment make every challenge worthwhile.
MANIOTOTO AREA SCHOOL
Grace Farquhar
Sports: Netball, hockey.
School sport: Fun, excitement, keeping active and showing sportsmanship. It has meant a lot to me to be involved in secondary school sports, especially when I was younger as it made for getting to know my classmates better and form amazing friendships. I have also made amazing friends from other schools throughout the years and gained great new skills.
Lessons learnt: Sport is not always about winning or scoring lots of goals. It’s also about improving your skills and relationships with others. Sport is also a great way to experience new things, whether being away at tournaments and that environment or whether it’s being in a team and working with others.
BLUE MOUNTAIN COLLEGE
Annabel Peters
Sports: Netball, basketball, and equestrian.
School sport: My personal values of school sports would be teamwork, fun and enjoyment. Developing connections and adapting to younger team-mates, teamwork and personal growth throughout all of these sports.
Lessons learnt: Leadership and trusting team-mates.
TRINITY CATHOLIC COLLEGE
Anamika Jones
Sports: Netball, basketball, touch, Rippa rugby, football, running, tennis, volleyball, badminton, water polo.
School sport: Having the opportunity to try a variety of sports within my school has taught me so much. It has taught me teamwork, communication, discipline, time management and resilience, which I think are all great skills to carry into life. Sports are really important and so enjoyable. Being involved in sports at school has meant a lot to me because it has given me an outlet to come to and enjoy. I struggled with schoolwork sometimes due to my dyslexia and sports gave me a passion that I could do out of the classroom.
Lessons learnt: Sports have taught me about balance, commitment, organisation and hard work.
Ben Casey
Sports: Basketball, volleyball.
School sport: I love being active and playing a game that I enjoy. I think that sport has definitely helped me grow as a person, and not just as a sportsman. I believe I have made some great mates through sport and built some strong friendships and connections that I wouldn’t have otherwise. It has also helped me develop important skills like teamwork, leadership and resilience that I know will stay with me beyond school.
Lessons learnt: Throughout my time playing school sport, it has taught me how to deal with both success and failure. School sport has also taught me the effectiveness of teamwork and staying disciplined and committed to my team. It has also helped me grow as a person and taught me how to push myself when things get tough.
TOKOMAIRIRO HIGH SCHOOL
Brendon Greer
Sports: Hockey, touch.
School sport: Being part of a team gave me skills with communication and teamwork and helped me set higher goals for myself. As I have got older, I have valued the commitment, patience and time that the coaches have put into trying to develop and teach players. Being involved in school sports for me has helped me stay motivated throughout my school years. Representing my school gave me a sense of pride, and being able to train and play alongside friends created good times and memories, also the support from team-mates and the encouragement from coaches made me feel more confident both on and off the field.
Lessons learnt: How to win, how to lose, how to work as a team and how to push yourself when things get tough. I’ve learnt that showing up, being consistent, and putting in effort over time is what leads to progress and success.
CROMWELL COLLEGE
Lachie Morton, Baxter Dimond
School sport: We value involvement and participation. Having a high participation rate at school will help the development of players throughout the school, which could lead to our school being able to compete at a higher level at tournaments. It’s also always good to give kids something to look forward to outside of the classroom. Playing sports for the school over the last seven years has been a real privilege coming with many opportunities, such as being the first team from Cromwell to attend touch nationals. Securing fifth place and second place at two different SISS tournaments has been really special as it’s given us the chance to make a name and legacy for Cromwell College before we leave.
Lessons learnt: We have learnt many different lessons during our time at school. This comes from the tough losses and the best wins and through all of it we learnt to stay dedicated and consistent as the results eventually come. Through these lessons we have developed leadership skills which have helped us shape into the sport perfect roles we have at school, leading the next generation to be even better people.
