Taradale won their first junior national adventure racing title last Friday. Photo / Supplied
Taradale won their first junior national adventure racing title last Friday. Photo / Supplied
Taradale High School won their first ever National Get2Go adventure racing title after a week of competition on Great Barrier Island.
Years 9 and 10 students Theo Roberts, Emma Bryant, Greer Findlay, Reeve Doone, Ben Wilson, Charlie Evans, Olivia Munialo and Ella Brassington came out on top of 12 schoolsfrom around New Zealand.
Get2Go is made up of a series of outdoor adventure challenges including orienteering, kayaking, stand-up paddling, mountain biking and a little bit of problem solving, held at the Hillary Outdoors Marine Centre on Great Barrier Island.
After arriving via the ferry on Sunday, December 6, Taradale team coach and teacher-in-charge of sport Pauline Edwards said all the competitors got straight into an hour of problem solving.
The next couple of days they participated in kayaking, rock climbing, high ropes and other activities, before a 22km race on the Wednesday which was run mostly on-foot.
Taradale tackle the rock climbing wall on Great Barrier Island. Photo / Supplied
It was in this event that Taradale started to dominate the competition as they finished half an hour ahead of second place.
"The top four came in within an hour of us, and then everyone else was about two hours behind us," Edwards said, noting her team went on to win every event over the final three and a half days.
However they didn't come through unscathed, as Theo Roberts nearly pulled out of the competition due to an infection on his hand.
After having antibiotics overnight, he was cleared to continue 15 minutes before the start on Thursday morning.
The Taradale team qualified for the national final after winning the Hawke's Bay competition in August for the 11th time.
Sailing, kayaking and stand-up paddling were the on-water elements of the event. Photo / Supplied
"We've been top four consistently [at nationals], but never won it," Edwards said.
Map reader Emma Bryant was selected for the New Zealand team after the event.
The adventure racing team run a loop from Taradale High School up the Otatara, Dolbel and Sugarloaf hills three mornings a week as part of their training.
Edwards said they have high ropes practices at the Tutira course, and would normally kayak on Pandora Pond however its closure after the Napier flooding made preparing difficult
"We do quite a few full-day weekend trainings where we do problem solving and different skills they need," she said.
Taradale High School's 2020 National Get2Go adventure racing champions. Photo / Supplied
The Get2Go competition is for junior high school students, most of whom will go on to the equivalent Hillary Challenge for seniors.
Edwards said many of the Taradale students go on to compete in the multisport Coast to Coast event as well, with a group currently in training ahead of the 2021 edition in February.
