Grantlea Downs School top of the cops
Grantlea Downs School pupils have proved they have the physical competency to take on the police force.
A team of four from the school won the annual South Canterbury Year 7/8 Blue Light Police Physical Competency Test Challenge, beating 16 other teams, in a record time of 2 minutes and 19.42 seconds. Beaconsfield was second on 2 minutes and 23.56 seconds and Gleniti School, third on 2 minutes and 24.13 seconds.
Senior constable Deborah Quested, of Timaru, said the winning time is the fastest since records began several years ago.
Grantlea Downs School syndicate leader and teacher Kirsty White said the team is made up of determined leaders who work well together as a team.
White said she has been at the school for eight years and in that time a team from Grantlea Downs has never been in the top three of the competition.
‘‘The school is very proud of them,’’ she said.
The pupils had not done a lot of preparation for the competition, White said, but are all good students who put on a good display on the day.
The school now has the option of taking part in the national schools competition but White is unsure if the team will take part.
The physical competency test the pupils from throughout the region took part is the same timed fitness course sworn police officers are required to complete every two years.
The course was made up of 12 obstacles over a 400m course, which teams usually take about three to five minutes to complete.
This includes pushing a trailer 10m, carrying a wheel assembly 10m, walking along a raised beam 5m, jumping a 1m hurdle and 1.8m long jump, completing an agility run involving zigzags around cones, diving under two hurdles, jumping through a window, climbing over a 1.8m wall, dragging a 74kg dummy and climbing over a 2.2m fence with foot and hand holds.
The course requires good levels of fitness as well as team work and planning. Assisting other members over obstacles is also essential.
The competition is supervised by sworn police officers and set up by a qualified Police Physical Education Officer.
Wednesday’s competition was held at the indoor netball courts at Aorangi Park, Timaru.