College Sport: Cool assignment for Birkenhead pupils

Kelsi Heath (left) and Eleanor Adviento are off to the Youth Olympics. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Snow and ice would, surely, be furthest from the minds of girls at North Harbour secondary schools. Not so it seems.

While their schoolmates will happily head to the beach next summer, Birkenhead College 16-year-olds Eleanor Adviento and Kelsi Heath will be heading to the cooler climes in Innsbruck, Austria to test their curling skills against the best at the Youth Olympics.

While still on the ice and snow, it is more action-packed for Kristin School's Sophie Corser and Eden McKay who are hitting the slopes in Europe and North America as members of the New Zealand Youth Ski Team.

But back to the more sedate, Heath's story is impressive.

A novice, Heath won selection in the New Zealand team with a borrowed broom, ill-fitting [borrowed] shoes - she needed three pairs of socks to pad them out - and fierce determination.

"I worked really hard to make it," said Heath who had never played a competitive game until about nine months ago in Dunedin. "I still haven't played for the school."

Encouraged by Liz Matthews, a PE teacher at Birkenhead College and a dab hand at curling - she is playing in Canada at present - the sport is one at which the school shines.

Matthews got Adviento into curling a couple of years ago. Heath simply went along to watch her friend play but when she turned up with her in Dunedin the New Zealand under-21 team were a player short and Heath was cajoled into "giving it a go".

The rest, as they say, is history.

"I was pretty confused but it soon clicked and I went with Eleanor to a training camp at Naseby where I learned more about the skills required."

Then the pair, without any curling for seven months as Avondale's Paradice Rink underwent renovations, returned to Naseby along with seven other "serious contenders" for trials which resulted in the close friends being selected in the mixed team for January's 10-day Youth Olympics, together with Naseby's Luke Steele and David Weyer

While she still intends to continue with orienteering this winter, her other sporting love of hockey will go on hold as she builds towards the Austrian trip.

"We are planning to go to Naseby, hopefully once a month as they have a dedicated curling rink, to train with Luke and David but it will be very expensive which might mean it's not possible," said Heath who has been on the podium at the North Island SS orienteering championships - winning the junior title in 2008.

Adviento turns 16 next week and is on the lookout for either a boy or girl to join her and Heath in either a mixed or all-girls team for the forthcoming Auckland SS competition.

Meanwhile, on the slopes, Corser and McKay represented New Zealand at the 49th running of the Trofeo Topolino, the world's most prestigious youth ski race in Folgaria, Italy. Competitors from 47 countries took part in slalom and giant slalom.

They moved on to the International Alpine Ski Race in Pra Loup, France where Corser claimed victory in the Super G - a first for a New Zealand junior skier. She took the honours in the K2 and backed that with a fourth in the giant slalom and fifth in slalom. All her times were within 1.3secs of the winner. McKay finished 13th in the slalom, 14th in giant slalom and 15th in the Super G in another solid effort in a tough international field.

Before returning to school next term, Corser will compete in France and McKay at the Whistler Cup in Canada.

Determined not to be left behind by higher profile, higher decile schools, Birkenhead College principal Jim Mathewson has overseen a programme aimed at providing the Birkdale-based school's 800 pupils with second-to-none sporting facilities.

"We have created an environment which fosters sporting excellence through quality teaching/coaching, serious commitment to sport, first class facilities and high performance programmes," said Mathewson.

The outstanding facilities at the college include two full-size gymnasiums, swimming pool, a fully equipped weights/cardio fitness centre, Astroturf and ample playing fields.

"Our first-class facilities are backed up with coaching and teaching expertise, with four of the PE Department staff having represented NZ in their respective codes," said Mathewson.

"We are fortunate to have coaches of the calibre of Jenni Dryburg (athletics), Liz Matthews (curling), Graham Peters (orienteering, athletics, hockey and basketball) and Mikaele Tuu'u (rugby). We also utilise outside coaches with specialist areas of expertise. "

Traditionally, Birkenhead College has excelled in orienteering, curling, hockey, rugby, cricket, basketball, netball and soccer. More recently they have shown out in badminton, squash, and volleyball.

The school has taken pride this year in the efforts of Kiamo Ah Kuoi, a Year 13 student, who won the North Harbour senior javelin and finished third in discus and shot put.

At the Greater Auckland Championships he continued in the same vein with victory in the senior javelin and silver in the shot put. He won javelin bronze at North Island SS championships.

Year 10 student Megan Kikuchi won the junior sprint treble at the North Harbour championships. At the North Island Championships she won the 300m, was second in the 200m and fifth in the long jump.

MULTISPORT
Victories in the NZ SS triathlon championship and the Auckland SS tag team triathlon completed a busy couple of weeks for the triumphant Diocesan senior team.

They beat old rivals St Cuthbert's to claim the national title and last week edged Rangitoto to claim local honours.

At the NZSS championships in Queenstown, Georgia Wetzell was fourth out of the water in a closely-fought first leg. Georgina Wilson then rode Diocesan into first position on the bike, beating her closest rival by two minutes. Rebecca Burridge stretched the lead as Diocesan won by more than two minutes.

In the Auckland event at St Kentigern, Diocesan picked up a medal in every grade. They claimed third place in the Year 7 and 8 race as well as the juniors. They finished second in the intermediate race and the under-19 national champions defended their title against strong challenges from Rangitoto and St Cuthbert's who claimed silver and bronze.

RUGBY
Twelve North Harbour schools have their chance to stake a claim for a place in the new-look BNZ Condor Sevens finals when they contest their qualifying tournament at Hato Petera today.

Teams from Long Bay, Hato Petera, Rosmini, Whangaparaoa, Kaipara, Birkenhead, Glenfield, Massey, Orewa, Rangitoto, Northcote and Albany SH will chase the one open boy's qualifying spot.

Long Bay, Hato Petera, Kaipara, Massey, Northcote and Rangitoto will contest the open girls.

With sevens set for an Olympic debut in Rio de Janerio in 2016, players at this year's national finals may well see the tournament as the place to stake an early claim for higher honours.

In recent qualifying matches in the lower North Island, Feilding High beat PNBHS 36-22 to claim both a place in the final tournament and bragging rights over their old foe as the Manawatu winners.

In the Taranaki qualifier, NPBHS were too strong for Central, winning 24-12 and Napier BHS beat their 'B' side 36-5 to win in Hawkes Bay.

The three schools will join 13 other schools in Auckland for December's finals.

Sevens continues to make an impact around the country. At the Saracens Cup tournament at Napier's Park Island, more than 200 players, including girls teams from Flaxmere College and Hukarere GC were in action. Women's sevens is also on the Olympic programme.

Whangarei BHS were the first school to reach the finals where KBHS, who beat MAGS in last year's final, will defend their title.

Meanwhile, in their last hit out before embarking on a six-match Japanese tour, the Hamilton BHS 1st XV carried out the basics well in comfortably beating St Peter's School 19-6. Both schools used the match as a pre-season workout with all squad members from both schools getting game time.

The Waikato Secondary Schools competition also got under way with 16 schools in four divisions playing the first of three games in a qualifying round.

SWIMMING
Liana Smith (Strathallan) and Rangitoto's Hayley Kim were among the standouts as Auckland's elite swimmers went head-to-head in the Champion of Champions meet at the West Wave Aquatic Centre yesterday.

Competitors from Auckland's four zones qualified by swimming one of the top eight fastest times in their respective events.

Smith dominated the intermediate girls' events.

After a third place in the 50m butterfly, the Pukekohe club swimmer showed her class to win the 50m backstroke in 30.94s.

She followed that with wins in the 50m breaststroke and freestyle, clocking times of 35.72s and 27.60s respectively.

Kim impressed in the senior girls, posting a quick 32.31s to win the 50m backstroke. She also swam second in the 50m butterfly.

In the junior boys Joshua Asplain (Rosehill) showed his talent, beating Hayden Church - an Australian Age Group Championship representative - in the 50m butterfly with a time of 27.44s.

Asplain also went on to win the 50m backstroke in 30.15s and finish second in the 50m freestyle, behind Sacred Heart's Mario Koenigsperger.

Cory Main produced a standout performance in the intermediate boys, winning the 50m backstroke with a time of 28.97s, and the 50m freestyle in 26.03s.

The 16-year-old from Macleans College will compete in the Australian Age Group Championships in Adelaide from April 18-29.

Fellow Macleans student Jeffery Arona-Tuifana'e will also be competing in Adelaide, coming off a winning swim of 30.22s in the senior boys 50m breaststroke yesterday.

Arona-Tuifana'e won every breaststroke event in the 2010 transtasman series, and has set his sights set on 200m gold at the Australian Age Group Championships.

Parnell's Erik Kahr had a great swim in the intermediate boys 50m breaststroke to beat strong favourite, and Australian Age Group qualifier, Bradle Arona-Waqanivavalagi in a time of 30.78s.

That swim wrapped up a good day in the pool for Kahr after coming second in the 50m butterfly.

Many of the swimmers are now looking ahead to the North Island SS Championships in Palmerston North on May 21 and beyond that the August nationals in Hamilton.

WATER POLO
Auckland Grammar came from behind to upset Sacred Heart 7-5 in a thrilling premier boys' final of the Auckland Championships.

In front of a packed crowd at the Diocesan Aquatic Centre, AGS turned the tables on Sacred Heart who had gone through pool play and the playoffs unbeaten and had recently been crowned North Island champions.

It was a tension-packed affair from the outset with neither team able to score in the opening two minutes.

Danger man Matt Lewis broke the drought to give Sacred Heart the lead but before halftime he was ejected which cost his team dearly.

AGS hit back immediately when man-of-the-match Jeff Hemus scored the first of his five goals with a well-directed outside shot. Late in the first quarter Hemus added his second from a well-timed Paul Richardson pass.

Richardson then won the vital swim-off at the start of the second quarter which resulted in a 5m penalty after Sacred Heart still had seven players in the water. Hemus slotted for 3-1.

From the next attack Sacred Heart hit back to close the gap but AGS were soon back in control when Thomas Maclean scored.

AGS started to dominate after Hemus ripped in another well-directed shot which he followed with a penalty for a 6-2 halftime lead.

After another Sacred Heart goal, Grammar hit back with a cheeky outside shot from Richardson.

Sacred Heart managed to score two goals in the last quarter but it was not enough.

COMING UP

TODAY: Diving, Auckland SS championships, West Wave Aquatic Centre 10am-1pm. Orienteering, Auckland SS, Ambury Farm. Rugby, North Harbour SS 7s qualifying tournament, Hato Petra College from 10am (open boys' final 3pm, open girls' final 1.20pm).

SATURDAY-APRIL 19: Water polo, NZSS premier girls, Huia Pool, Lower Hutt.

SATURDAY-APRIL 21: Water polo, NZSS Northern Zone, division two, Water World, Te Rapa.

MONDAY-APRIL 21: Canoe Slalom, NZSS, Tarawera River, Kawerau.

APRIL 25-30: Yachting, NZSS team's racing, Algies Bay, Warkworth.

APRIL 27-30: Water polo, NZSS premier boys, Aquatic Centre, Wellington.

APRIL 28-30: Equestrian, NZPCA Horse Trials, teams championships, Taupo.

APRIL 29-30: Orienteering, North Island SS Championships, Punetekahi, Taupo.

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