College sports: Outrigger canoeing about to make a splash

One of the larger events on the secondary school sports calendar gets under way tomorrow when the national waka ama (outrigger canoeing) championships are held at Orakei Basin.

The event runs through to Saturday, the day when most of the finals will be held.

A real festival atmosphere is expected from the 667 students taking part, not to mention some competitive racing.

There are 57 schools entered, from as far south as St Bede's (Christchurch) and Kaiapoi and as far north as Kaitaia College and Bay of Islands College.

The Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Wellington regions are well-represented with a large number of entries.

The Auckland region has some schools relatively new to the sport, such as King's College, Northcote and Rosehill College.

Gisborne High School was one of the big winners from last year. McAuley High School in Otahuhu also won a number of titles.

RUGBY The Auckland 1A first XV promotion-relegation saga has been settled.

There will be no playoff, and St Kentigern College will compete in the 1B competition next season.

Macleans College will take their place in the top competition for the first time in a number of years.

St Kentigern said that conflicting advice from Auckland Secondary Schools Rugby Union staff left the college's management team disappointed and frustrated by a process which they felt had them cast as the villains in the episode.

They released a statement which said that the school's head of sport, Martin Piaggi, received written advice from the union part way through the rugby season that a promotion-relegation match would be played at the beginning of the 2004 season.

St Kentigern said the union reversed its position at an end-of-year meeting, where the committee maintained promotion-relegation would be automatic. The committee encouraged the school to appeal the decision through the College Sport office, and they did so, but lost.

Principal Warren Peat was disappointed at the outcome.

"We congratulate Macleans College on their promotion and wish them well for the 2004 season," he said.

"Our young side played with real courage all season, but did not earn enough points to stay in 1A.

"We still believe that a promotion-relegation match at the beginning of the following season is the fairest way to determine the strongest 12 sides to compete in the top division.

"But our goal is now to win the 1B competition and thus win automatic promotion back to 1A in 2005.

"We trust that the same rules that have been applied to send us down will still be in place to allow us to return.'

College Sport head Mike Thompson found the committee's ruling was constitutionally correct despite contrary advice given to the school by rugby officials during the season.

"There were two different interpretations of what would happen at the end of the 2003 season.

"The committee ruled on the by-laws that stood, rather than the understanding of some of the membership of the union, and the result was St Kentigern College's frustration and consequent appeal.

"I am disappointed that a longer-than-anticipated appeal process has cast St Kent's as grumbling, when they were asking a question that they were perfectly entitled to ask," said Mr Thompson.

THIS WEEK

Today: Tennis, year 9/10 Northland Junior Tennis tournament, 9.30 start, Thomas Neale Tennis Centre, Whangarei.

Thursday: Waka ama (outrigger canoeing), national secondary schools championships, Orakei Basin, from 9.30, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Friday: Volleyball, year 9/10 Northland junior volleyball tournament, 10.30 start, Advocate Stadium.

Saturday: Weightlifting, Northern Regional Championships, Gillies Ave Weightlifting Centre.

Monday: Volleyball, premier girls, various venues.