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KEY POINTS:
The opening of the $12 million aquatic centre at Diocesan School last Friday adds another top-class sporting venue to the increasing list of outstanding facilities at Auckland schools.
Water polo will be the greatest beneficiary from the opening of the new pool but other water sports too will benefit.
The pool, opened by Governor-General Anand Satyanand, is the first at a New Zealand school with a moveable floor (25m x 20m x 2m). Also allowing for eight 2.5m competition lanes, the pool was made in the Netherlands and shipped to New Zealand.
A team of Dutch workers installed the Varo flooring in November.
By lowering the pool to a maximum depth of 2m it will also accommodate underwater hockey.
Chris Hayward, chairman of Auckland Water Polo and on New Zealand Water Polo's board of directors, welcomes the new pool but says it will not completely alleviate the shortage of pool time for his sport in Auckland.
"Auckland has four large water polo clubs, but all lack sufficient pool space for training," said Hayward. "Feeding these clubs are a large number of schools, but again training space is a critical issue. At least there is not the same concern for competition play.
"Water polo is one of the fastest growing sports in Auckland schools. While finding time for competition is not a real burden it is not so easy to find sufficient training time."
New Zealand Water Polo chief executive Nick Cowan too welcomes the addition of the pool at the Diocesan School for Girls but backs Hayward's claim they could do with more.
"A truly international venue for all aquatic disciplines is paramount in Auckland," said Cowan. "Auckland relies mainly on one major venue for its major aquatic events [Henderson's West Wave Aquatic Centre]."
While some schools have pools capable of hosting swimming and other disciplines, there remains a real shortage of pool time.
Kirsten Hillier, from Macleans College, said pupils at her school, one of the biggest in the country, are stymied in their endeavours to play water polo.
"We do not have a 50m pool so we have to go to Sacred Heart to train," said Hellier. "That makes it expensive as we have to pay a fee just to practice as well as the travel costs to get there."
Macleans have just held their annual swimming sports but had to go to a municipal pool in Papatoetoe.
Other schools are better off.
Sacred Heart, Mt Albert Grammar and Epsom Girls Grammar are now joined by Diocesan in having top-class aquatic centres on-site while Rangitoto College pupils have only a short walk to use the pool at the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health.
In other sports, Auckland schools are reasonably well-served.
A number of schools, including Tamaki College, Avondale College, St Kentigern, Westlake BHS, Auckland Grammar And Alfriston College have gymnasiums capable of hosting premier basketball. Tangaroa College will soon join that list.
Many of these facilities are available for local community use.
Outdoors, artificial hockey turfs continue to be opened around the city, with Kings College last year joining that list.
Kings have their turf inside an all-weather running track. Mt Roskill Grammar, Avondale College, Auckland Grammar, St Cuthberts College and Rangitoto College all have regularly used hockey turfs. Rangitoto also has a two-wicket indoor cricket school.
Westlake GHS is set to join the artificial set, with a hockey turf and two synthetic soccer fields planned to replace fields left so boggy in the winter they become almost unplayable.
Between them, St Kentigern College, Avondale, Kings, Baradene, St Cuthberts, St Peter's, MAGS and AGS have 16 squash courts, ensuring a ready supply of court time for another popular sport.
CRICKET
Waikato: Led by a man-of-the-match performance from allrounder Ricky Palacio, newcomers Te Awamutu/Otorohanga scored their first win of the 1st XI division one championship, beating Thames High by 99 runs.
From the time the home team won the toss and elected to bat, they were always in control.
Palacio and Clayton Stewart (21) scored a run-a-ball 42 in a solid opening partnership. Palacio and Clinton Sinclair then maintained the momentum, adding 115 for the second wicket before spinner James Martin claimed the first of his four wickets.
Palacio and Josh Gibson, who went on to score 54, added a further 31 runs before Palacio, on 81, was bowled by Phillip Le Lievre.
After 50 overs the home side had posted an impressive 275/9 which quickly became more than enough as the visitors lost three wickets to Palacio in the eighth over.
A couple of fightbacks were led by Kieran Taylor (47) and Hayden Jones (31), but with Stewart, Cameron Forsman and Palacio - who also took a couple of catches - all claiming three wickets, Thames did well to reach 176 in reply.
HBHS Development XI also got beyond 200 when batting first at Hillcrest High.
Led by Matt Turton's half century, the visitors reached 204 in the 46th over despite some good bowling from Dylan Griffin and Aram Artinian, who picked up seven wickets between them.
Brenden Flegg gave some hope at the top of the Hillcrest innings but when he was dismissed for 26, the wickets soon tumbled with only a bold 48 from Cory Whiting giving the home side any real hope. Matt Rees-Gibbs picked up 4-35 and saw the innings end at 143 - 61 runs shy of their target.
Jarrod Mongston continued the half-century theme in scoring 54 for St Peter's School but his effort at the top of the order was not replicated lower down, with only Alex Parker (39) offering much support as they batted out their 50 overs for a handy 234/9.
Morrinsville began the run chase promisingly after losing their first wicket in the first over.
At 125/2 in the 33rd over, they were well placed to push on but could not manage that despite lusty hitting from Kurt Arnold.
At Cambridge High, St John's College, batting first after winning the toss, were undone by Shaun Bax who snared 5-14 and Ross Laidlaw who chipped in with another three wickets.
Only Jude Cooper, who posted his second half-century of the season in scoring 62, was able to offer much as the innings ended at just 131.
A second wicket partnership of 89 between Jono Feast and Cale Villiger took the home side within sight of victory which was eventually achieved with seven wickets in hand.
ROWING
Westlake BHS ended a 15-year drought in more ways than one with victory in the Head of the Harbour eights on Lake Pupuke.
In difficult conditions, WBHS beat Auckland Grammar by 1 lengths to claim the honours for the first time since 1994.
The conditions, heavy rain in the morning and gusty crosswinds later, made it difficult for the crews from 34 schools. They filled 2800 seats on a busy programme where racing was over 950m rather than the usual 2000m.
In an impressive effort, WBHS retained the overall trophy with 118pts - well clear of second-placed St Peter's College (60).
Sacred Heart also showed out as contender for later regattas with good wins in the under-16 eights - to win the Westlake Cup - and the under-17 eights.
Crews will now continue to prepare for other big regattas - the North Island SS Championships (March 13-15) and the Maadi Cup (March 30-April 5) - both at Lake Karapiro.
* www.asbcollegesport.co.nz
