Sports News Term 3, Week 4 2026

As we head towards the end of another busy winter sports season, it certainly feels like we have had to fight our way through it! Winter has brought plenty of cold, wet and challenging weather, along with more than our fair share of flus and bugs making their way through our teams.

We are now coming towards the conclusion of our Wednesday competitions, with Saturday sport also beginning to wrap up for some teams. However, there is still plenty of excitement ahead as we head into Tournament Week, where many of our teams will have the opportunity to compete against some of the best schools from around the country.

It has been fantastic to see the development of skill and teamwork in our athletes and, most importantly, the pride our girls continue to show when representing St Margaret’s College.

As we head into the final weeks of the winter season, we look forward to celebrating the achievements of all our teams and wish those competing at tournaments the very best of luck.

QUAD

Winter Quad had it all this year, well, everything except a final day of competition!

A team of 47 girls, along with staff and managers, headed away early Sunday morning to Dunedin to compete in badminton, football, hockey and netball. This year, we were warmly hosted by St Hilda’s Collegiate and joined by Rangi Ruru, Craighead and Columba.

After the first round of games on Sunday afternoon, all four teams were happy with their performances, and we were in good shape heading into the next day of competition. Monday was a long day of games in the chilly Dunedin conditions, but the girls worked hard and produced some great results.

Going into Tuesday, we were in a strong position across all four sports. With a win and a few other results going our way, we had a chance to take out the competition in every sport.

However, the Dunedin weather had other plans.  There was much excitement when the girls woke on Tuesday morning to find Dunedin blanketed in white. With snow falling intermittently throughout the morning and roads in and around Dunedin closed, the decision was taken out of our hands and the final day of Quad was called off.

A disappointing finish to what had been two fantastic days of competition, but our girls handled the unexpected change with their usual positivity and resilience. A huge thank you to all of our girls for their amazing ability to adapt, roll with the punches and, most importantly, keep spirits high. 

Thanks also to the supporters who came along to watch.  It was great to see some Old Girls there cheering the girls on and nice to be able to reconnect with you.  

RESULTS

BADMINTON: 6-0 win v Craighead. 2-4 Loss v Rangi.  2-4 Loss v Columba

FOOTBALL: 3-1 Win v Craighead. 2-1 Loss v St Hilda’s, 0-0 (FT, 3-2 (PSO) Win v Rangi.

HOCKEY: 5-0 Win v Craighead. 2-1 Loss v Rangi. 4-0 Win v Columba 

NETBALL: 32-33 Loss v St Hilda’s, 49-20 Win v Craighead. 42-21 Win v Rangi.

SKIING

On Monday, 11 August, ten determined Year 5–8 students headed to Mount Hutt to compete in the Independent Schools Ski Racing Championships. Representing our school in the Year 5–6 division were Frankie Greer, Charlotte Gong, Maddy Mackie, and Kate Cao. The Year 7–8 squad featured Ally Greer, Tania Liu, Greta Holm, Kate Harris, Molly Millar, and Phoebe He (carving it up on her snowboard).

Despite challenging, white-out weather conditions, the girls were completely unfazed. They tackled the foggy visibility with total confidence, carving through the slalom flags on the race course and perfecting their turns during free-skiing practice throughout the day.

Standout Results

Ally Greer: 1st Place (Year 7–8 Girls) & Fastest Overall Skier in the entire competition.

Frankie Greer: 1st Place (Year 1–6 Girls) & 3rd Fastest Skier overall.

Year 7–8 Girls Team (Ally, Greta, Tania, & Kate): 1st Place Winners in the team event.

A massive congratulations to all ten girls for their incredible grit, sportsmanship, and outstanding achievements on the mountain!

SWIMMING

It was a fantastic four days away in Auckland for the SMC swim team at the NZ Secondary Schools Swimming Championships, with the girls producing some outstanding performances against the best secondary school swimmers from across New Zealand.

The team came away with an impressive three national medals, including a gold medal, as well as a number of very hard-fought top-six finishes.

Medals

 Gold – 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay: Olivia Vivian, Charlotte Dunne, Gemma Scott and Lily Dunne

 Silver – 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay: Olivia Vivian, Charlotte Dunne, Madeleine Tapper and Lily Dunne

Bronze – 200m Breaststroke: Olivia Vivian

It should also be noted that Olivia Vivian has been selected for the Swimming New Zealand National Youth Programme Squad, which has a key focus on developing athletes towards the Olympic Games Teams for LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032. A training camp is taking place in Christchurch in October as part of the national performance pathway. This is a significant national selection following her excellent results at this year’s National Age Group Championships and is wonderful recognition of her results, hard work and ongoing commitment to the sport.

CRICKET

Just in case you haven't seen yet, the first round of contracts for NZC have been announced for each of the MA's (major associations) and Ciara has secured her first professional contract playing for the Magicians.

Fantastic news and so deserved for Ciara - all of her hard work plus a bucket load of talent has got her to this point.  Exciting times ahead for Ciara; she is also in a training squad for the NZ U19 team, and this team will be named in early December after the U19 National Tournament and will go to Bangladesh for the World Cup in January. I will keep you posted.

Check out the link below with a great article about Ciara’s selection

Ciara Hartland

NETBALL

Marian College hosted a School Sport Canterbury Senior Netball Development Tournament on Sunday 9 August, with our Senior Blue team joined by a couple of talented players from the Senior Green team. The girls took on Senior B teams from around the South Island and made an impressive start to the day.

They dominated pool play, comfortably winning both of their games before progressing confidently through the semi-final. With some fantastic team play, strong defence and plenty of attacking flair, the girls were looking in great shape heading into the final. They continued their winning streak all the way, taking out the trophy to become back-to-back SMC Champions of this tournament.

UPCOMING EVENTS

15th & 16th August - Canterbury Secondary Schools Artistic Gymnastics - Christchurch

30th August - 6th September - Winter tournament week