Teams from Sacred Heart attended the Winter Tournament Week from 28 August – 3 September. Our heartfelt thanks go out to the staff and parents who spent the week with our teams and also to our passionate supporters who encouraged them from the sidelines. It is indeed an amazing week for all involved with some outstanding results and credit goes to the players for their dedication and grit demonstrated throughout the week.
The Netball Premier Team dug deep at the Upper North Island Secondary School competition (UNISS) played in Hamilton. The team battled hard through illness, injury, and some very tough games kept their chins up, and made us very proud with their sportsmanship. The tournament ended with a few more losses than wins, but the work was done to stay in B grade for another year. This young team along with the up-and-coming talent will be exciting to watch.
The First XI Girls’ Hockey Team spent the week in Auckland competing in the Chica Gilmer Cup Tournament. There was a combination of wins and losses on Monday and Wednesday with the team doing exceptionally well in making it into the Top 8. Unfortunately, the team lost their 5/6 playoff, however, bounced back the next day to win their 7/8 playoff game, and a nice way for some of our departing players to finish off their hockey time at SHGC.
It was an exciting week for the First XI Girls’ Football in Rotorua as they played in the Maurice Hulme Tournament. The girls’ goal was to finish in the top 3, which meant they would have a chance of qualifying for the Nationals in 2024. They successfully got through the group phase with 4 wins and 1 defeat. A nail-biting quarter-final win placed them in the semi-finals. The girls then lost a heartbreaking penalty shootout to Selwyn College. They came back fighting to win the 3rd/4th playoff with a 1-0 win over Howick, avenging their only defeat from the group phase. The team received some outstanding feedback from other teams/coaches and Stella Peterson won MVP of the tournament.
Our school Rock Climbing Team, which was only formed this year, spent the start of the week competing in Mount Maunganui, Tauranga at Rocktopia. Whilst none of the girls qualified to climb on the second day, one was very close. We are super proud of how the girls have progressed throughout the year and how the sport is growing and developing here at SHGC.
Our Equestrian Team travelled to Taupo for the week to compete at the National Equestrian Centre along with 70 schools, 63 teams and 300 riders. By day two our young team took control of the competition and never looked back. Placed 1st overall in the Arena Eventing Teams Competition, 2nd in the SS Jumping Competition, 5th overall in the SS Dressage Teams Competition and 16th overall in the SS CTR Teams Competition, accumulating enough overall points (1076) to become North Island Secondary School Eventing Champions!
Mark McAlley, Director of Sport