Secondary Sport

Working for the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association during the past six years has given me many rewarding and satisfying experiences.

Harry James was a promising tennis player when he met United States great Andre Agassi in Queenstown four years ago. That brief meeting instilled in him a burning ambition to reach the top.

The English sisters make a habit of winning races in tandem.

A total of 84 Wakatipu High School pupils in years 9 to 13 braved ice-cold temperatures in water and difficult terrain on mountain bike and foot for their annual triathlon at Moke Lake yesterday. Challengers swam 200m around buoys in the lake, then cycled on a 10km loop before running 6km to the finish line. James Beech captured the action.

Samantha and Shannon Hope are the proverbial two peas in a pod. Not only do they look alike, but both are excelling in duathlon, triathlon and the national junior mountain biking scene.

For many 16-year-olds, handling schoolwork is hard enough without pursuing sporting ambitions, but for Mackenzie Haugh it is all in a day's work.

Michael Collins might be the next big thing in rugby but his skills are not lost to the summer code just yet.