Pupils set to have a ball at tournament
SOME Central Otago high school pupils have received an opportunity many sports fanatics could only dream about.
Eleven pupils from around the district will be ball boys and girls and flag bearers for the Cromwell Tri Nations Hockey tournament, which starts today.
Bridget Airey (16), Jake Denniston (15), Suzie Morrow (17), Tom Mullally (16), Jack Stuart (17) and Karl Wilson (15), of Dunstan High School; Madi Gainsford (17) of Wanaka; Olivia Geneblaza (15) and Thomas Paul (16) of Cromwell; and Ben (16) and Ally Wilkinson (15) of Queenstown are the chosen 11. All are part of their school’s first or second XI.
During the tournament, in which the New Zealand women’s Black Sticks will take on the national women’s teams of Australia and Japan, the chosen pupils will be ball boys and girls and flag bearers for all of the teams.
The pupils explained how their role worked.
‘‘As ball boys [and girls] we place the ball down when it goes out and retrieve the other balls that are hit off the field,’’ Jake said.
They received four weeks of training from Sandra Stuart, who coaches the Dunstan High First XI.
‘‘We had to learn to roll the ball flat behind the goal so we didn’t have anything loose on the field,’’ Jack said.
‘‘It’s very exciting to see international players coming down to play in small communities like Cromwell and promoting hockey in Central Otago,’’ Tom said.
Mrs Stuart said the students had to apply for the role.
‘‘We don’t have a lot of space between the sideline and the fence at our turf, so these ball boys and girls are going have to be on their toes concentrating for the whole game’’.
The Black Sticks were coming to Dunstan High on Monday to meet the pupils.