KEY POINTS:
Visiting Waikato crews stole the show and left their Auckland counterparts with plenty to think about in coming weeks with their bold showing in the season-opening Head of the Harbour regatta on Lake Pupuke.
Forty schools and more than 1500 rowers contested the Bayleys Real Estate-sponsored regatta which was held in near-perfect conditions with a mildly strong tailwind which produced fast and furious racing for 5000 spectators who lined the banks.
While officially the Auckland Championships this year, there were a record number of Waikato schools including Waikato Diocesan, St Peter's and Hamilton BHS who pitted their skills against top Auckland schools Kings College, Takapuna Grammar, Auckland Grammar, Auckland Diocesan, Westlake Boys and Scared Heart.
Scared Heart were on the comeback taking out a very closely fought U18 boys' lightweight four early in the day, before the expected sculling battles between WBHS and TGS in the U18 boys' quads and U17 boys' doubles and singles.
TGS won the double and single sculls, but could not catch a fast-finishing WBHS quad.
In the girls' sweep events, Westlake Girls and Macleans College battled for the top spots in the fours, and U15 and U17 eights. A very quick Waikato Diocesan U18 girls eight took out the top girls' events.
In the boys' U18 eights, the field was lined across going into the last 300m with Hamilton BHS pulling away to edge Kings and AGS.
At the end WBHS were on top with 91 points followed by TGS (65) and Waikato Diocesan (61).
With Waikato Diocesan and Hamilton BHS winning the sought-after U18 pairs, fours and eights, Auckland schools have plenty of hard work before the Maadi Cup.
The schools will go head to head again in a fortnight at Lake Karapiro in the final tune up before the North Island championships and the Maadi Cup in late March.
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CRICKET
Waikato
William Kokaua has wasted no time in hitting his straps with bat and ball in a busy start to the new season.
After hitting an unbeaten 46 as Hillcrest HS raced to 102/1 to beat the Hamilton BHS Emerging X1 by nine wickets in the second round of Twenty20 action, Kokaua turned match winner with the ball in the opening round of the 50-over one-day championship.
He bagged 5-39 in knocking the top off the Matamata College first innings as they eventually reached just 95 in only 29 overs.
In reply, Hillcrest too struggled at the top of the order as they slumped to 3-9. The innings was turned around by captain Chris Jamieson who scored 44 not out (after earlier taking 4-25) and Kokaua (28) as they recovered to win by six wickets.
The Hamilton BHS Emerging X1 have quickly shown out as a more than usual team scoring 265/5 in wet and rainy conditions against once-powerful St Peters. Led by Nikhil Vishwanath (59) who survived a difficult opening spell and another left-hander Ryan Thomson (78), HBHS amassed a respectable 265/5 to which St Peters replied with 185 - after reaching 56 without loss - with only Gwylim Prosser (33) reaching 30 as four batsmen were run out.
In a high-scoring affair in which Cale Villiger's unbeaten 81 proved the match-winner, Cambridge HS, after being sent in, beat Fraser by 11 runs in another rain-affected match.
The match-winning third-wicket partnership of 83 between Villiger and Shane Butcher proved vital.
In reply, Fraser struggled after losing four wickets for 39 in the first six overs but were given some hope by Andrew McLean who scored a run-a-ball 70.
In a game reduced to 40 overs, HBHS Development X1 beat St John's College by 33 runs.
Electing to bat first, HBHS were in early trouble at 28/3 but a solid middle-order effort from Josef Walker (47) and a quick 28 from Harry Corkill helped them through to 178. With Walker leading the way with 4-11, HBHS restricted St Johns to 145 in reply.
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TRIATHLON
The multi sport brigade are back in action this week with the team tag triathlon event at Farm Cove.
Team have three members with each contesting a different discipline - swimming, cycling or running. The first triathlon event of the 2008, Auckland Secondary Schools series has attracted a good field with entries slightly up on last year.
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WATER POLO
The top teams from last year's premier competition have wasted little time in showing they will again be the teams to beat.
Defending champions AGS are a team to beat but can expect tough battles with last year's runners-up Rangitoto and perennial contenders WBHS and Sacred Heart. Twelve boys' and nine girls' teams are in this year's premier grade. The junior season begins on Friday.
