Sports News Term 4, Week 2 2026

Term 4 has kicked off with boundless energy and enthusiasm! A wonderful variety of summer sports is now underway across St Margaret’s College, including volleyball, touch, cricket, korfball, water polo, canoe polo, five-a-side football, pickleball, ultimate frisbee, indoor netball, tennis, and Rugby Sevens. With so much on offer, it has been delightful to see our girls leaping in, embracing new challenges, and building on their skills together.

We are also immensely proud to share that St Margaret’s has been named New Zealand’s top girls’ sporting school for the second consecutive year! This incredible honour reflects the deep passion and commitment woven throughout our sports programmes, as well as the diverse range of opportunities available to our students. Heartfelt thanks go to our dedicated students, coaches, managers, staff, and supportive families—it is your shared enthusiasm that makes our sporting community thrive.

On Wednesday evening, we gathered to celebrate these remarkable achievements at our annual Sports Awards. The event shone a spotlight on top individual performers, rising talent, dedicated coaches, and outstanding teams. Beyond the scores, it was a warm celebration of the teamwork, sportsmanship, and perseverance that make our school community truly special.

Earlier today, our Junior School Athletics Day filled the grounds with vibrant spirit, friendly competition, and bright smiles. Seeing our younger students give their all while cheering each other on was a real highlight, and we look forward to sharing more photos and results in our upcoming newsletter.

CRICKET – REGIONAL FINAL

Our 1st XI Cricket team recently contested the Regional Final against Christchurch Girls’ High School in a highly competitive and thrilling encounter. Both teams displayed remarkable skill, grit, and sportsmanship throughout the match, showcasing the high standard of schoolgirl cricket in the region. Although CGHS managed to edge ahead to take the victory, our girls fought valiantly until the very final ball, demonstrating immense resilience and team spirit. We are proud of the team’s hard work, tactical growth, and dedication throughout the regional campaign. A big thank you to our coaches, support staff, and enthusiastic supporters who cheered the team on every step of the way. 

We couldn’t be prouder of this special group of girls. The way they competed, supported one another and gave their all, both on and off the field, was fantastic. Although the result didn’t go our way, they can hold their heads high and be incredibly proud of their performance. We wish CGHS all the very best as they head to Nationals.

There is still plenty of cricket ahead, with our Willows fixture against Otago Girls’ High School and the ever-important Staff v Students match still to come! We also look forward to seeing our girls back out there for Regionals in March 2027.

A special mention to Ciara Hartland, who has made a huge contribution to cricket at SMC during her time here. Thank you, Ciara, for everything you have given to our programme. As you embark on your first season as a contracted Magician, we wish you every success in this exciting next chapter. Go Ciara, we are all behind you! 🏏

Photos Regional Final 19/10/26

NETBALL – NZSS NATIONALS

During the holidays, our Senior A Netball team travelled to Auckland to compete at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Netball Nationals. The girls faced four challenging days of competition, taking on teams who tested them both physically and mentally.  After a series of closely fought matches, the team finished an impressive 12th in New Zealand, an outstanding achievement and a fantastic way to round off a stellar year of netball.  This young team has enjoyed a remarkable season, winning the Wednesday SuperNet competition before going on to finish second at the South Island Championships. To then compete against the best secondary school teams in the country and secure 12th place nationally is a testament to their hard work and continued development throughout the year.  A huge thank you to Julie Seymour and Hannah Romano for their outstanding coaching, guidance and commitment and to Liz Righton for her superb managerial support during the week.

RUGBY SEVENS 

There has continued to be positive growth in our rugby whānau at SMC with another strong season of Sevens in Term 4. Students have ranged from Year 9s to Year 13s signing up, with new and experienced players at every year level.  We have had the opportunity to attend the Condor Warm-ups with our Senior team and Condor Qualifiers with both a Junior and Senior team. Both days were filled with warm, windy conditions, plenty of laughs and some excellent plays. In the first tournament, our Senior team showed a lot of dominance, leaving the pitch with 3 wins and 1 loss. The Condor Qualifiers saw a much harder pool of competition, but our Senior team still showed up and played hard. The draw against Villa Maria College was a great game with plenty of turnovers and skill development seen in action. Our Junior team finished the day with 2 wins from their last two games. There was some accelerated learning for some of our new players and we are all so proud of the effort they put in on the day and in training.

We look ahead to competing with our U16's in the SISS Seven's Tournament at the end of the month.

PHOTOS: TO COME THURSDAY MORNING

VOLLEYBALL

With 12 other teams taking to the court each week, there is certainly no shortage of volleyball action at St Margaret’s College.  Games are played in the SMC gym every Monday from 4pm, so there is always something exciting to watch.  From conversations with players and coaches, it sounds like the season is already delivering some fantastic games, noticeable improvements, plenty of laughs and lots of fun, with perhaps the odd premature victory celebration thrown in for good measure.  Our Senior A girls have made a fantastic start to their season, securing two wins from two games under the guidance of new coach Cristobal Lopez. It is also wonderful to see the next wave of volleyball talent coming through the SMC programme. Our junior teams are busy preparing for their upcoming tournaments, and there is plenty of potential across these groups.

Photo: 2

ZONTA SECONDARY SCHOOL SPORTS AWARDS

Next Thursday, a number of our girls will attend the Zonta Secondary School Sports Awards as finalists across a range of categories. This is a fantastic recognition of their hard work and achievements in sport throughout the year. We wish all our finalists the very best of luck and look forward to sharing the results in our next newsletter.

CELEBRATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

TABLE TENNIS - TRACEY HSIA

Congratulations to Tracey Hsia (Year 11)  on an outstanding performance at the 2026 New Zealand Open Championships, which concluded after nine days of competition.  Competing across both the Open and U19 events, Tracey had a fantastic tournament, bringing home an impressive five medals: Gold – Open Women’s Doubles.  Bronze – Open Mixed Doubles,  U19 Girls’ Singles, U19 Girls’ Doubles, U19 Mixed Doubles

And to continue on with more exciting news, Tracey has been selected to represent New Zealand at the 2026 ITTF World Youth Championships in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 21–28 November.  Tracey will compete in the U19 Girls’ category, taking on some of the best young table tennis players from around the world.  This selection is another outstanding achievement for Tracey as she continues to make her mark on the national and international stage.

PHOTOS: 2

SKIING - CHLOE DRINKWATER

Congratulations to Chloe Drinkwater (Year 12), who has successfully passed her NZSIA Level 2 Ski Instructor qualification over the holidays.  After earning her Level 1 qualification last year through an age exemption, Chloe was once again granted an exemption to undertake the Level 2 course, having spent the season instructing at Mt Hutt each weekend. The Level 2 course was an intensive eight days of training and assessment, covering technical skiing ability, demonstrations, teaching techniques, lesson planning and analysing other skiers. Passing this qualification means Chloe can now teach skiers at a higher level.

CYCLING - EMMA CRAWFORD

After an amazing season of incredible results, Emma Crawford (Year 12) has now been invited to join Cycling New Zealand’s Project 2032 programme.  This long-term athlete development initiative supports talented riders on their journey towards future international competition opportunities, with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games among its aspirations.

This is an exciting next step for Emma and a fantastic recognition of her talent, hard work and potential in cycling. Congratulations, Emma.

HOCKEY - ALPINERS SQUAD

Congratulations to our past and present students who have been selected for the Alpiners Hockey Squad.  Sophie Booth (OG 2025), Tilly O’Donnell, Stella Valentine (Year 13) and Genevieve Surridge (Year 12)

SURF LIFESAVING - LENA LANGLEY

Congratulations to Lena Langley (Year 9), who finished 3rd overall at the Surf Lifesaving South Island Pool Championships at the end of Term 3.

PHOTO: 1

TRAMPOLINE GYMNASTICS – AMELIA MIDDLEBERG 

Congratulations to Amelia Middleberg (Year 8), who represented the Canterbury Trampoline Team at the New Zealand Gymnastics National Championships during the school holidays.  Amelia had a fantastic competition, earning silver in synchronised trampoline, finishing sixth in individual trampoline and seventh in double mini trampoline. An impressive achievement, Amelia also reached the finals in all three events!  Adding to her success, Amelia was awarded a New Zealand Gymnastics Proficiency Pin, recognising athletes who perform in the top 25% of competitors.

PHOTO: 2

ARTISTIC SWIMMING - PHOEBE GUO

Congratulations to Phoebe He (Year 8) on an outstanding performance at the 2026 Artistic Swimming National Championships.  Phoebe achieved an impressive third place nationally in the Aqua-combo category, bringing home a well-deserved bronze medal.

PHOTO:1

CHEERLEADING - EMILY

Emily has had an outstanding Term 3 holiday break, achieving some fantastic results across a series of cheerleading competitions!

At the Spring Carnival and Auckland competition, Emily’s Grade 6 Cheersport team took out first place, while Emily also impressed in her solo event, finishing second.

Emily then travelled to Hamilton at the end of September for a major competition, where she made her debut with her Level 3 stunt group, finishing second. She also secured third place with her Level 2 team, an excellent result competing against some of New Zealand’s best athletes.

Emily finished the holidays on a high at Christchurch’s Garden City Championships, where she achieved an incredible five first-place finishes across all five of her cheerleading events! Adding to this success, her Level 2 cheer team was crowned Grand Champion, finishing as the highest-scoring team of the competition.

With Nationals coming up in Auckland at the end of October, Emily has plenty of reasons to feel confident and excited. Congratulations, Emily, on an amazing run of results! We wish you and your teams the very best of luck at Nationals.

Here are a couple of pics of Celeste and Harper at the competition on Saturday.

Celeste Milburn

Year 7

South Island competition 

Neonkatz Elite Junior level 1 Team

Garden City Spring Competition 

Celeste’s team Neonkatz came first in their Grade, also won Grand Champs and got the top competition mark with 97.1 to win Overall Champ Winners

MULTISPORT - CHALLENGE WANAKA

Congratulations to Millie Bocock, Pippa Anderson and Emma Crawford (Year 12), who took on the Challenge Wānaka Multisport Secondary School Team event on 17 October and came away with gold!  Competing in the U18 category, the girls delivered an outstanding performance to claim first place.

For Millie and Pippa, this was their first multisport event, making their gold-medal finish even more impressive. The event was also an important opportunity to gain experience as they prepare for the 2026 Coast to Coast, where Pippa, Oak Galbraith (Year 12), (currently injured) and Emma will compete together as a team.

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SPORTS AWARDS RESULTS AND PHOTOS - Results from Laura

NEW ZEALAND BADGE RECIPIENTS

Abbey McCormick-Young Water Polo

Angel Shaw Flag Football

Daisy Thake Indoor Cricket

Lexie Boon Indoor Cricket

Emma Crawford Cycling

Faye Lichen Gymnastics

Tracey Hsia Table Tennis

Zara Hazledine Equestrian

RED ROSE RECIPIENTS

Maisie Diver Hockey

Jessica Gearry Hockey

Kaia Hartstonge Hockey

Grace Jones Hockey

Isabella Slattery-Shannon Hockey

Lily Taylor Hockey

Molly Rogers Water Skiing

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

29th October - Zonta Awards

1st November - Hockey - SMC Old Girls game 

6th - 8th November - Volleyball - Junior Canterbury Championships

10th/11th November - Cricket - Year 7 & 8 Festival

17th - 19th November - Volleyball - Junior South Island Championships - Christchurch

18th & 19th November - Tennis - Junior Canterbury Championships - Wilding Park

19th - 22nd November - Water Polo - Junior South Island Championships - Christchurch 

25th November - Year 7 & 8 Athletics - Canterbury Primary Schools

29th November - Cricket - Willows Cricket match

6th December - Canterbury Secondary Schools - Beach Volleyball - Christchurch

11th - 13th Athletics - NZ Secondary Schools Athletics - Whanganui

15th - 17th December - Beach Volleyball - NZ Secondary Schools Nationals - Mt Maunganui