Visitors do well in exchanges

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

It’s a fair old battle.

And in 2019, Taradale came out on top in their winter sports exchange with Ilminster Intermediate School.

Under the exchange, which began in 2005, both schools travel and host. This year, Taradale won five events and lost three here, while winning five and losing three at home.

In Gisborne, the Ilminster girls’ basketball team won 53-19, the chess team won 35-23, and the indoor bowlers won 16 singles games and eight pairs games.

Taradale won the boys’ hockey 22-0, the Year 8 netball 22-20, girls’ football 6-4, boys’ volleyball 2-0 and the boys’ under-65-kilogram rugby by default.

In Taradale, Ilminster won the boys’ u48kg rugby 31-7, table tennis 8-2 and girls’ volleyball 2-1.

Taradale won the boys’ basketball 48-36, boys’ football 10-0, girls’ seven-a-side rugby 25-0, girls’ hockey 9-0 and Year 7 netball 21-17.

Ilminster principal Peter Ferris, on whose watch the annual exchange began in 2005, said the fixture involved 140 Ilminster students overall and was a highlight of the school’s sporting calendar.

Taradale sports co-ordinator Kirsten Demanser-Wilson said: “This has been an awesome celebration of sports, friendship and fun over three days: great competition over 16 events covering eight codes.”

It’s huge these days.

The annual junior winter sports exchange between this year’s hosts, Gisborne Boys’ High School, and their oldest foes, Napier BHS, was successful for the visitors.

Napier won the u15 rugby 24-19, the basketball 60-36 and badminton 5-1.

Gisborne won the hockey 4-2 at Harry Barker Reserve and the u14 rugby 26-19.

Of the u14s’ win, Gisborne Boys’ High principal Andrew Turner said: “Despite a challenging season, the u14s — as with all of our participating teams — in that performance exemplified our motto, that courage knows no defeat.”