Bethlehem College celebrated a wonderful year of sporting success in 2012 with the annual Sports Awards dinner held recently.
The top awards for Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year went to Michael Booth and Beniece Douch.
Michael won the M E Bailey Cup and excelled in athletics and in rugby. In athletics, he broke long-standing school records for the long and triple jump. At the BOP Track and Field championships, Michael was part of the 4x100m relay team that broke a 1984 record.
He also participated in the NI Track and Field Championships and won the bronze medal in the 100m sprint and was part of the Waikato/BOP 4x100m relay that won the gold medal.
In rugby, he won the Most Valuable Player of the successful First XV rugby team, was an Under-19 BOP rep and was invited by the Waikato Chiefs to be a part of their under-18 secondary school squad. He is also one of the college sports captains.
Beniece won the Almond Cup, and among her many achievements in beach and indoor volleyball, she made the Elite Junior Women's Under-19 Beach Volleyball national team which competed in the Swatch Junior Women's World Beach Volleyball in Cyprus.
She also made the NZ Junior Women's Indoor Volleyball team which competed in the Asian championships in Thailand. She is also a finalist for the Waiariki Institute of Technology 2012 BOP Sports Awards Secondary School Sportswoman of the Year.
Beniece has been offered full scholarships from five universities in the United States for volleyball.
Madison Rennie and Cole Rippey won the Years 7-9 Bartrum Trophies for Pursuing Excellence in Sport. Maddison for her outstanding achievements in cross-country for the Bay/Mid Islands and Cole for representing New Zealand in the Optimist Asian Sailing championships and the Bay in the Hatch hockey team.
Team of the Year Award, the Smiths Sports Shoes Cup, was won by the First XI girls hockey team. Their accomplishments included winning the Bethlehem College Festival of Hockey. They came third at the Marie Fry Winter Tournament and have been promoted to Division 1 Winter Tournament 2013. They ended their 2012 season by winning first place in Tauranga.
Annelies Berends and Kelsey Randrup were joint winners of the SBS Service Contribution to Sport for Years 10-13 for their leadership.
Kelsey has assisted the Harbourside No Exceptions Netball programme for athletes with disabilities, and Annelies has taken the sports photographs for Bethlehem College this year. Kelsey was also one of the sports captains and Annelies a member of the Sports Council.
The Board of Trustees Cup was won by Cameron Gerlach for his selfless attitude contributing to volleyball and rugby teams. He is a BOP under-16 and college First XV rugby player.
The Whenuaroa All Round Sportsman and Woman Awards were won by Matthew Cole and Molly Anning.
Matthew stood out in cricket and rugby. He has a batting average of 77.5 and a top score of 161, and helped his team to win the Baywide First XI College cricket competition. He was chosen at the Southern Skies Rugby Tournament as an All Star Player by the opposition and has been selected to the BOP under-18 rep team and rugby sevens team.
Molly excelled in beach and indoor volleyball, netball and athletics. She is in the NZ Under-17 Beach Volleyball team and in the NZ Under-17 Women's Indoor team, which won the transtasman test series. She also played in the Open A Netball team which came second in the Harbourside championships, and has represented Bethlehem College in javelin at BOP/Mid Islands.
Sally Davenport and Hamish Smith have been awarded Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarships from Waikato University - Sally for netball and Hamish for surf lifesaving.