Sport Whanganui's review of college sport focuses on Whanganui Girls College

Hanging with Olympic Ambassador Kayla Whitelock proved inspirational for WGC students.

The Sport Whanganui review of College sport in the region continues, this week focusing on Whanganui Girls College.
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The WGC waka ama girls dig deep during a turn at the National Secondary School Waka Ama Championships 2019 in Rotorua last month.

Summer Tournament from March 25-29 featured the Whanganui Girls' College waka ama team travelling to Blue Lakes in Rotorua for the National Secondary School Waka Ama Championships 2019 under the guidance of Howard Hyland and Rachel Kingi from the Whanganui River Outrigger Canoe Club.
Considering the girls had only been training since the beginning of the year, they showed tenacity when competing in the championship semi for the 500m turns and a plate semi for the 250m sprints.
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An in-form Kate Ramage pedals her way to podium finishes on the mountain bike trail.

Katie Ramage attended the Mountain Bike Nationals held in Rotorua and came 1st in the U15 girls age group. She also attended the North Island Secondary Schools Mountain Bike champs in Wellington and came third.
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WGC had two girls head to Maadi Cup in Cambridge for Rowing, with Leigha Stormont (Head of Sport) coming 16th out of 64 in her U17 Single and Leigha and Aaliyah Grant came 7th in a D Final.
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Hinerangi Taite-Thompson joined the Whanganui High School softball team and they finished 4th in their competition, missing out on 3rd place by 1 point.
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Winter sports are starting to take form with seven netball teams, football, basketball and 11-a-side hockey. This year will also see the introduction of a 7-a-side hockey team to compete in the newly developed competition that will be running on a Thursday.
WGC is excited to have a few students coaching and managing teams to get Level 2 credits. These students will have mentors and guidance to assist with their development, and WGC will be running group fitness sessions on a Thursday to help with agility, strength and speed.
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The WGC touch team showed marked improvement after training with a New Zealand rep player.

WGC also entered a touch team in the local competition on Thursday afternoons. The team had the opportunity to train with a New Zealand touch player which was a highlight. They improved considerably over the season thanks to early morning training and a lot of hard work. The competition consisted of local schools and although the results didn't go our way, their skills and teamwork improved out of sight.
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Zara Gapes tries Kayla Whitelock's Olympic medal on for size during the WGC visit.

WGC was incredibly honoured to have Olympic Ambassador Kayla Whitelock visit Whanganui Girls' College last week to talk to the girls at assembly and to the school's sports students. Kayla has competed at four Olympic Games representing New Zealand for the Black Sticks and had many inspiring and informative stories to impart.