Dannevirke High School School A - LNI Tournament B Grade Champions.
Dannevirke High School School A - LNI Tournament B Grade Champions.
After almost 20 weeks of early mornings, the hard work has paid off for Dannevirke High School’s netball team.
The team won the Lower North Island secondary schools netball B-grade tournament, played in Wellington.
The team and coaches at the ASB Stadium.
Over winter the Dannevirke High School A Netball girls played a full season in the Manawatū Top Six Secondary Schools competition on a Saturday morning in Palmerston North with only eight players - and due to injury and illnesses sometimes only seven. It was a great season this year with the girls finishing fifth overall.
The team has been very lucky this year to have Tyra Alexander and Anna Peffers coach them. The skill level and fitness this team showed was noted by other top secondary school coaches.
At the start of the season the team set a goal to go to tournament week in Wellington so they did their own fundraising as a team selling raffles, firewood, cleaning jobs, gardening, and even a horse trek.
So to finish their amazing season off the team travelled to Wellington to compete against 27 other secondary schools in the B grade at the Lower North Island Secondary Schools Netball Tournament.
The team had to play two full games every day over five days, playing schools much bigger than Dannevirke High School and it even played an invitational rep team.
Every time the team took the court they played with great sportsmanship, composure, and determination. Even when they were absolutely tired after winning nine full games, the girls dug deep in their 10th game to win the final against St Matthews 36-26.
Umpires and side-line officials commented on how well our Dannevirke girls played and how amazed they were by their skill level.
The team had an amazing week staying together at a beautiful house with fun activities and visits, competing in a MasterChef cook off, quiz nights, and celebrating a special birthday and visiting Te Papa, the pools, and having an adventure on the Wellington Cable Car.
Back at school with their medals.
We would like to thank Dannevirke High School for their support, the sports committee, Magic Mulch, all the girls’ sponsors, the wharekai, the parents who came to support every day, the Castles family which was there every day cheering us on, and especially to TJ and Anna. Thank you
We say goodbye to our Year 13s Ella Hogan and Eva Smyth, who have been a part of the team for four years and we wish them the very best.
It has been a privilege to be a part of the School A Netball for the past four years, the fact that our small rural school can step up and play bigger schools and win is such a proud moment.
