COLUMBA COLLEGE

We asked Kavanagh sports prefects Meg Christophers and Archie Campbell:

1. What sports have you played during your time at Kavanagh College?

2. What is your favourite sporting memory during your school years?

3. As sports prefects in 2021, what new initiatives have you put in place?

4. What are some of the challenges/ barriers for young people wanting to play sport?

5. What are your plans for 2022 and beyond, and what sports will you continue on with?

Meg Christophers

1. Over my seven years at Kavanagh, I have played water polo, swimming, gymnastics, touch, football, basketball and handball.

2. My favourite sporting memory would have to be doing the Get2Go challenge in year

10. I really enjoyed it because it required a lot of teamwork and trust to be able to work together and make it to the end. The activities were quite different to what I’ve done before such as mountain biking, kayaking and orienteering, which made it a challenge, albeit a fun one. Although it was cold, rainy and we all may have suffered mild hypothermia at Macandrew Bay, it was definitely my most memorable experience.

3. Our biggest initiative was to encourage more students to be physically active. Sports should be fun and to do this we tried to encourage active participation in fun events. The main event we changed was the Kavanagh swim sports to involve a novelty and diving section, so those who are not confident in the water can still get in and move around. We also ran a year 79 fun sports day where they raced each other in fun events such as egg and spoon races. This was so that more pupils can be involved in physical activity and find it fun as encouraging participation and enjoyment of physical activity was our main goal for this year. To get people outside, moving around and just having fun.

4. I believe one of the biggest challenges for young people that stops them from playing sports is their selfesteem. Many people feel selfconscious about their ability to play sports and think that people will judge them, which stops them from doing something they should enjoy, as sport should be a fun experience.

5. I plan to go to the University of Otago next year to study and I hope to be able to continue with my swimming as well try a few new sports here and there.

Archie Campbell

1. During my seven years at Kavanagh College, I have played a wide variety of sports for the school: football, handball, volleyball, cricket, futsal, touch, basketball and netball.

2. Of all my sporting memories at Kavanagh College, my favourite would have to be last year at the football tournament in Invercargill.

The team had a really solid tournament and we were playing well in all of our games, and we battled our way through into the finals against John McGlashan. In that game, we went down 10 pretty early on, and it remained that way for a while until I scored the equaliser to make it 11, and while we may have lost on penalties, 87, in the end, scoring that goal and the feeling I got watching the ball hitting the back of the net, and my teammates all running to me, is something that I don’t think I will be forgetting any time soon.

3. I have made sure that I have been getting out and supporting a lot of the school’s sporting teams, especially the sports that I am involved in such as handball, football and volleyball, and from time to time netball. But as well as this I have tried to encourage junior pupils to play/continue playing sports throughout their life at Kavanagh College.

4. I feel that a challenge for young people wanting to play sports is confidence. I think that with social media being accessible more or less everywhere, young people are saying people on social media do stuff in sports, and this may inspire them to give it a go, or to try a new trick or to something along those lines, but when they try what they saw on social media and it doesn’t work like how they wanted it to, it is a huge blow to confidence. I know this from personal experience.

5. I’m taking a year off studying and will be working next year. I should have a lot of spare time, which I can dedicate to some of my sports. For example, I intend on getting back into handball and hopefully representing Otago in the sport for both the junior team as well as the senior team. As well as this, I intend playing club football in a team with some of the guys that I have been playing with while at Kavanagh College.

We asked Columba sports prefects Jorja Dinan and Brianna Horne:

1. What are the duties of a sports prefect at Columba College?

2. What do you enjoy most about being a sports prefect?

3. What sports have you been involved in during your time at Columba College?

4. Outline one sporting highlight during your time at Columba College.

5. What makes sport at Columba College so special?

6. How does being an athlete make you a better person?

7. If you were to give some advice to younger pupils wanting to be a sports prefect one day, what would you say to them?

8. Has your role as a sports leader equipped you with skills that you feel will be beneficial as you move into the next new chapter of your life?

Jorja Dinan and Brianna Horne

1. Jorja: To encourage participation in sport and school sports events. To be a role model for others and set a high standard for Columba College sport.

2. Brianna: Being able to be a role model for the younger pupils and being a bridge between the pupils and leadership.

3. Jorja and Brianna: Hockey, rugby, sevens, touch, athletics, basketball, water polo, handball, netball and volleyball.

4. Brianna: Our junior volleyball Otago final where we were playing Mt Aspiring College. We were playing in the Edgar Centre arena with hundreds of other players and parents watching the final. The noise and environment were unreal, everyone cheering for us to win. We did end up taking the gold medal.

5. Brianna: The environment is extremely special and unique. Columba sports excel because of this environment helping to develop and nurture the girls. It has helped me become the sportsperson that I am today and has pushed me to become the best I can be.

6. Jorja: There is a level of selfrespect you ‘‘earn’’ when you work hard to achieve goals and are offered opportunities that develop qualities such as dedication, commitment and courage.

7. Jorja and Brianna: Be courageous. Play as many different sports as you can. Take all the opportunities you are granted and don’t be intimidated by something that is challenging. You don’t have to be the most amazing athlete — you just have to put the effort in.

8. Jorja: Definitely. You learn to contribute positively within teams and towards others who have different learning styles and are different from yourself in the way they stay engaged and respond to feedback.