Board backs St Bede's ban on Maadi Cup rowers

Jordan Kennedy competes at the 2015 Maadi Cup on Lake Karapiro after a court injuction allowed him to row. Photo / Simon Baker

St Bede’s parents must file statement of claim with court today to avoid injunction lapsing.

The Canterbury school at the centre of a controversy around two pupils who were banned from rowing at the Maadi Cup says the board of trustees supports the action taken.

St Bede's College students Jordan Kennedy, 16, and Jack Bell, 17, were dumped from the school rowing team for breaching Auckland Airport security on Friday by riding on the Jetstar luggage carousel at the domestic terminal.

The school banned them from competing at the Maadi Cup regatta at Lake Karapiro, near Cambridge.

But the boys' parents were granted an urgent injunction by the High Court at Christchurch to allow their sons to row.

The board of trustees met last night for the first time since the controversy broke. After the two-hour meeting they released a statement saying they were unanimous in their disappointment that the parents had taken legal action against the school.

The board members were also unanimous in their support of rector Justin Boyle.

"From what the board has been advised, the decision to withdraw the boys from the Maadi Cup and return home was made after what Mr Boyle and the senior management believed was a full investigation, and consideration of an appropriate penalty," the statement said.

Bell was also allegedly involved in an incident at last year's Maadi Cup, which was held in Twizel.

In Justice Rachel Dunningham's interim decision on the injunction, it was revealed that Bell had been disciplined for his role in last year's misbehaviour.

"Jack has never been formally stood down or subject to any serious disciplinary issue, although he was involved in an incident at the 2014 Maadi Cup ... Jack was not the instigator of that and the school imposed a punishment on Jack and the other boys following that event."

Media reports at the time alleged that eight St Bede's boys were involved in the incident, which allegedly included dousing tennis balls in petrol and setting them alight before throwing them in the small Mackenzie Country town. They were also accused of pouring petrol on the road to spell out "SBC" and drawing the shape of a penis and lighting it so it burned into the road.

The boys were banned from attending the regatta's social events and made to carry out community service in the town during school holidays, but were allowed to compete.

The Kennedy and Bell families must file a formal statement of claim with the High Court at Christchurch today to ensure the interim injunction remains in place until the end of the regatta. If they don't, the injunction lapses, and the school's ban comes back into effect. A lawyer for the families, Andrew Marsh, said they intended to file on time.

The school said it would wait until it saw the statement of claim before deciding how to proceed.

- additional reporting: Kurt Bayer and Newstalk ZB