Canoe slalom team come out tops

Maddy Wilson helped the Tauranga Girls' College canoe slalom team win the Bay Cardiology Secondary School Girls' Team of the Year award. Photo / File

The Tauranga Girls' College canoe slalom team won the Bay Cardiology Secondary School Girls' Team of the Year award at Friday night's Bay of Plenty Sports Awards.

They got the nod from the judges ahead of outstanding performances in 2015 from the Mount Maunganui College senior girls' beach volleyball team and Otumoetai College's senior A volleyball team.

Tauranga Girls' victory at this year's New Zealand Secondary Schools Canoe Slalom Championships held in Kawerau was the school's 13th national title in the past 14 years.

The team of Maddy Wilson, Courtney Williams, Suzy Cumming and Monique Hawthorne won multiple medals across individual classes as well as the golden team performances and have been selected in the New Zealand Canoe Slalom Under-18 development squad.

So what's the secret to the consistent dominance by Tauranga Girls' in the sport?

"I think it is because we have good coaches in the Bay over the past couple of years. It is not like the biggest sport at Girls' College but it helps to start out young which they encourage from Year 9," Wilson said.

Williams said it had been a great year for the school and an increase in funding was paying off.

"The increased funding has helped involve the girls more from a younger age. We also approached Tauranga Intermediate and spoke there to the girls since it is at AIMS Games next year."