Visiting teams make their mark

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

SPORTS EXCHANGE

It’s important stuff. And Campion College Year 9 and 10 sports teams had two action-packed days of it as they took on Aquinas College of Tauranga here.

The hosts won the girls’ futsal 10-2, lost a brilliant game of rugby 55-33 and pushed Aquinas to the brink in both the volleyball and hockey (2-0 and 3-1 losses respectively).

Aquinas reigned supreme in the football (9-0) and boys’ futsal (9-0), with the girls’ and boys’ basketball (66-17 and 67-9 respectively) also going the way of the visitors.

Campion player-of-the-day awards went to Brad Hill (rugby), Tamsyn Brown (volleyball), Owen Buchanan (hockey), Alex Mather (boys’ futsal), Jasmine Sparks (girls’ basketball) and Felix Sparks (boys’ basketball) with a super effort from Tayla Broughton to be player of the day in both the football and girls’ futsal.

A great element of the Campion-Aquinas fixture is that senior students coach juniors. Campion’s Lily Sparks and Lauren Bennett (boys and girls’ basketball), Sam Middleton and Thomas Hart (rugby), and Kate Blakeman and Alesha Batisaresare (hockey) all ran teams. Seniors Bonnie Grealish and Brooke Bennett mentored the football team, the boys’ futsal team and the girls’ futsal team. Teacher Robert Hooper coached the volleyball team.

“Every athlete showed great teamwork, resilience and commitment,” Bonnie Grealish said.

“The exchange was a success, with lots of competition and friendship. A big thank-you goes out to everybody involved — the organisers, billets, parents, coaches, referees and athletes.”