Covid hits Geography Olympiad
JUST when Peter Blaikie thought he had his geographical path to success all mapped out, the radar has gone blank.
The 16yearold King’s High School pupil was delighted when he was recently selected to represent New Zealand at the under 19 International Geography Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey next year.
It was something he had been working towards for the past few years.
But what he had not anticipated was the Covid19 pandemic.
‘‘That’s really put a spanner in the works.
‘‘With Covid19, I would say the chances of me getting there are pretty low, unless they come up with a vaccine.’’
Peter was one of four secondary school pupils around the country selected for the New Zealand team, and although it was highly unlikely they would get to Turkey in August, they were being philosophical about it.
‘‘Being selected is pretty special — just about as good as going to Istanbul.’’
Adding to the thrill of being selected, was the fact the team members were usually year 13 pupils. Peter is still only in year 12.
His teachers were amazed by his selection because he was so busy at school this year, studying the year 13 curriculum for NCEA level 3 and scholarship examinations.
Peter said the olympiad consisted of three parts — a multimedia interpretation (looking at graphs, images and other sources); some field work which involved looking at issues relating to Istanbul; and writing an essay on a global issue.
He said much of the olympiad could be done online, and it was something organisers were now working on.
It was something he hoped would come to fruition.
‘‘I’ve got my fingers crossed,’’ he said.