As the Winter season came to an end, it brought the opportunity for our students to compete at Winter Tournament Week, which gave our students the chance to test themselves against schools from across the South Island. This year was our biggest involvement yet, with 10 teams, 125 students, and 10 staff travelling between Saturday 23rd & Saturday 30th August.
The week was about so much more than results. While every victory was well earned, the true reward came through teamwork, resilience, and the friendships formed along the way. Students returned home with memories and experiences that will stay with them long after the season ends.
We are proud of every team for the way they represented our school, showing skill, spirit, and sportsmanship, both on and off the field/court.
Here’s to the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the memories made during the week!
Referees
A big thank you to Dan Keating and Elijah Sommerfeld, Basketball referees, who were absolutely amazing over tournament week, being team referees at both junior and senior tournaments.
They each refereed a total of 16 games and were deservedly rewarded with Elijah being allocated the Junior A Girls final and Dan being allocated the Junior B Girls final, which was great recognition for their efforts.
Thank you also to Hunter Tapp, who not only played in the Boys’ Hockey team but was also the team’s referee.
Hockey Girls – Jenny McDonald Cup – Invercargill
The team took the mammoth drive to Invercargill to compete in the Jenny MacDonald Cup, with 2025 being the 4th year that KHS has competed in this tournament. With three wins and a draw in the first three days, they finished at the top of their pool, qualifying for the semi-finals. A tough game against a combined West Coast team and a great win against the home team -Southland Girls High School – meant that they finished 3rd overall for the tournament, which was Kaiapoi High School’s best result in a Winter Hockey Tournament yet.
The team played in the Canterbury Hockey Secondary Schools’ Competition on a Wednesday afternoon, where they finished the season undefeated, bringing home the Girls Div 3 Winners Trophy.
To return home and finish the year with medals was an amazing result that reflected the hard work and dedication that these girls have put into their Hockey this year.
It was great to have ex-student Emma Sewell coaching the team this season, and well done on a great result.
Hockey Boys – Coaches Cup – Cromwell
The highlight of the year for our Hockey Boys’ team was getting them to Tournament, where they travelled to Cromwell to compete in the Coaches Cup Tournament.
After playing the first three games without a goal, the team was determined to change that, and they were persistent, coming away with a win in their next game and scoring more goals in their last game.
Although they didn’t get a lot of wins, they left every game with smiles on their faces, focused on what they did well & improved with every game.
Tournaments are so much more than just wins, so many learnings, new experiences and memories.
Football Girls – Lotto Sportswear Tournament – Timaru
2025 was a historic year for Kaiapoi High School as we fielded our first girls’ football team in a decade. From the very first whistle, the team showed determination and spirit throughout the tournament. With top-tier teams like St Kevin’s (Timaru) and Otago Girls’ (Dunedin) in our pool, we knew it was going to be a challenging start, and the girls stepped up every step of the way.
Over the four days, we played seven games and came away with three wins and four losses, some of which were incredibly close.
Despite the results, the girls stayed positive, showing amazing team spirit, and proudly represented our school while displaying just how far they had come in such a short time.
Football Boys – Jim Wishart Tournament – Rolleston
This year it was exciting to finally have a competitive boys’ football team again after many years. This season, the primary goal was to grow and develop the football culture at Kaiapoi High with a committed group of young men.
The team was composed of a mix of years 9 to 13 students. With only three year 13s in the team, it was always going to be tough against schools with established football programmes. Our younger players did not shy away from the challenges in front of us, often receiving commendation from the opposition at the end of the game.
This really came to light at Tournament Week, where results didn’t fall our way, but the glimpses of future promise shone through. There were some fantastic skills and gameplay on show, but goals were hard to come by at times. Albeit, the future of football at Kaiapoi High is promising.
Netball – SISS Tournament – Dunedin
Our Senior A Team travelled to Dunedin for the South Island Secondary Schools’ Netball Tournament.
They started off the week in style, playing some fantastic netball and securing strong wins against Craighead (40-28), Wakatipu (34-29), and Cashmere (39-27). These impressive results placed us at the top of our pool. Following this, we came up against some tougher opposition and, unfortunately, saw players sidelined to injury.
However, we didn’t let this stop us. We put on a fabulous performance against the semi-finalists and previous winners, Columba College, giving them a real scare and trailing by only four goals going into the second half. We finished the tournament in 16th place out of over 70 schools.
Basketball Snr Girls – SISS Tournament – Nelson
This year’s tournament wasn’t as straightforward as previous years, as we had a six-player Netball/Basketball crossover, which meant girls were arriving at different times throughout the week. While this presented its challenges, it also gave an exciting opportunity for some of our junior players, Ruby Johnson, Maddie Taylor, and Hazel Herriott, to step up and gain valuable experience playing in a senior tournament.
Unfortunately, we lost Hannah Toli to an injury during Netball, which left us without a true big for the remainder of the tournament. Despite this setback, the girls showed great resilience and adaptability.
We finished 2nd in our pool after a tough loss to Columba College, which set us up for a quarter-final clash with CGHS. It was a close game, and we went down by just four points.
Bouncing back strongly, we secured a solid win over Cashmere, which earned us qualification for Nationals. We finished the tournament in 5th place with a final win against Ashburton.
The girls should be incredibly proud of their efforts. To finish in the top five and qualify for Nationals, all without having the full squad available for the whole tournament, was a testament to their determination, skill, and teamwork.
Basketball Snr Boys – SISS Tournament – Nelson
The Senior A Boys headed to the South Island Secondary Schools’ Tournament in Nelson, riding the momentum of a great season with a relatively inexperienced team.
Despite drawing an extremely tough pool that included the 1st and 2nd place teams, the boys refused to be fazed. They battled hard, lifted their game, and surpassed last year’s 14th-place finish with four wins from eight games to secure 13th overall. This was an awesome result from our young Senior team.
Basketball Jnr Girls – SISS Tournament – Nelson
Our Junior Girls’ team played in the A Grade and finished 8th overall, which was a great effort after placing 2nd in their pool. They were competitive in every game and had some really tight battles. One of the big highlights was the game against Villa Maria, which went into double overtime. The girls dug deep and came away with a 70–68 win. It was a huge team effort and really brought the team together.
Basketball Jnr Boys – SISS Tournament – Nelson
Our Junior Boys’ team had a tough pool in the B Grade, with two of the teams in their pool, going on to make the finals. Despite this, they were in every game and had a couple really close 2-point losses that could’ve gone either way. The results didn’t quite reflect how well they played or how hard they worked, finishing 12th.
Equestrian – SISS Champs – McLeans Island
Our Equestrian team had an incredible Tournament Week at the SISS Equestrian Championships, which was held at McLeans Island.
We had seven students who represented our school in a range of events, and this year was extra special, as the girls worked hard with fundraising to make it possible for the whole team to stay together at McLeans Island for the entire week. Having everyone in one place really added to the fun and team spirit.
Our team competed strongly, and we couldn’t be prouder of these outstanding young women who represented our school with pride and positivity, while also supporting other schools throughout the tournament.
We did face a last-minute challenge, being split into two teams just as the competition began. It was tough as we had been sitting 7th overall, but the girls pulled together brilliantly, finishing with one team placing 11th and the other team 15th.
The Mounted Games was a new event where the girls had an absolute blast trying, and in which they did really well, finishing as a team 2nd & 3rd overall. There were also some great individual results to celebrate.
THANK YOU
As we celebrate the end of another memorable Tournament Week, thank you to the amazing coaches, managers and teachers in charge* (TICs) who travelled with and supported our teams.
Emma Sewell, Sam Creed*, Dan Cleghorn, Mukesh Babu, Ryan Anders, Antonia O’Donnell, Paul Hopkinson*
Mark McLaughlin*, Tash Sutherland, Rebecca Kiesanowski, Nichola Holland, Josh & Dionne Shaw, Hayley Newton*, Jackson Lewis, Andrew Saunders, Wade Cook*
Ryan Anderson*, Emily Keer Keer*, Michelle Renwick, Evelyn Stuart, Stephanie Batterbury
Lou Johnson*, Molly Kay*
Abby Maat*, Rach Sharr & all the Equestrian parents
Because of you, our students not only had the chance to compete but also to grow, bond as a team, and create memories that will stay with them for years to come.
Tournament Week is more than just results; it’s about the shared laughs, van rides, team talks, challenges, and memories. None of that would have happened without your leadership and care.
Thank you for making the week one to remember.
