IT has been said that sports don't build character, they reveal it.
And it would be true to say the demanding cross-country championships at Waiouru revealed a group of determined boys and girls who were prepared to work through discomfort.
Cross country is a demanding sport especially on tough coursesand, although there is a definite team component, ultimately athletes have to rely on their own personal resources and determination.
A good training background helps but in the final analysis it is up to each individual and they can't rely on anyone else to help.
The sport does not have the glamour of triathlon and some other endurance-based activities but because of the nature of the sport triathletes tend to do well and as running is such a vital component of triathlon they benefit from such participation.
It was pleasing that so many made the journey to Waiouru to compete in the Ruapehu College hosted event. All but two of the region's secondary schools participated with 63 girls and 54 boys finishing the races. Wanganui Collegiate School (41 finishers) and Wanganui High School (27 finishers) had the largest teams. Nga Tawa, which had competed at the Manawatu Secondary Schools on the previous day, did well to field 11 athletes with teams in all three girls' grades.
It surprised me that in so many grades a school had only two finishers, which denied the possibility of being part of the three to score team competitions. In some cases injury or sickness prevented an athlete attending and left a school with two runners and this confirms the need to have at least four in a group to guarantee a team result.
The team element is vital in developing the sport and generating interest. Only one person will win and only two more can gain a medal. Many will gain personal satisfaction from their effort but this is so much easier to sell to participants if they are contributing to a team.
It is this team element that makes the introduction of regionally selected relay teams to take part in the new relay competition the day after next year's New Zealand Schools Cross Country in Rotorua such an exciting innovation and one that should encourage Wanganui runners.
The distance and the logistics of getting runners to Waiouru will have had some effect on the sizes of the fields and for the same reason there will be fewer runners competing in Dunedin next month in the NZ Schools Championships than at Palmerston North last year.
Again, schools that have traditionally sent teams rather than individuals will strive to ensure that they have a full roster in team events. There may be fewer six-to-score combinations although schools that have strong teams will be well represented. I can confirm that Wanganui Collegiate School will be fielding teams in at least five of the six grades and quite possibly teams in all six. There are still more than 40 athletes who have expressed interest and final selection of 30-34 athletes will be made after the Wanganui Collegiate Championship tomorrow around the Golf Course circuit at Collegiate School. The team strengths lie particularly in the girls' events. The Senior Girls finished second in both 3 and 6 to score teams last year and the medal-winning Year 9s move into the junior ranks to be followed by a strong intake this year at Year 9. The senior boys, as demonstrated in Waiouru with the first 4 finishers, have strength and would love to better their 4th place at the NZ Schools road race in Wanganui.
The runners contending for team slots to Dunedin will all be part of the strong House Competition both as members of a team and by their contribution to the standard competition for all competing. Racing starts at 11.15am.
