Winter Tournament Week 2025

St Andrew’s sports teams represented the College with pride, determination, and spirit, and achieved some impressive results as they took on the best opposition from across the South Island and Aotearoa, during a highly successful Winter Tournament Week.

Girls’ teams were once again to the fore, with top results including the Girls’ 1st XI hockey team’s stunning second place in their national Federation Cup Tournament, and the Girls’ Senior A and Junior basketball teams both being crowned South Island champions.

Hockey

After claiming St Andrew’s first ever regional championship title, the Girls’ 1st XI hockey team carried their great form into the national Federation Cup Tournament, with their second place nationally capping off a highly successful season. The team was unbeaten during pool play and their quarter-final, then faced St Cuthbert’s College in a tense semi-final, which St Andrew’s won in a shootout. The final against St Margaret’s College was a rematch of the regional final.

This time, St Margaret’s had the upper hand, with the final result being 1–2 in St Margaret’s favour. The Girls’ Development team also had a great tournament, finishing second nationally in the Chris Arthur Cup. The Boys’ 1st XI hockey team had a successful Rankin Cup Tournament playing against the best hockey teams in New Zealand. After a devastating loss to Timaru Boys’ High School in a quarter-final shootout, the boys comfortably won the playoff for seventh and eighth in New Zealand against St Bede’s College, 4–1.

Basketball

It was another great Winter Tournament Week for Girls’ basketball at St Andrew’s, with both the Senior A Girls, and Junior Girls defending their South Island titles. Both teams were dominant throughout, winning all their matches by impressive margins. The Senior Girls beat old foes Rangiora High School in the final, 85–57, with the Junior Girls sealing their title with a 90–65 win over Columba College. The Senior Boys’ basketball finished seventh in the South Island and the Junior Boys were ninth in their championship.

Football

The Boys’ 1st XI and Girls’ 1st XI football teams headed to their Division 2 national tournaments, where they achieved some impressive results. The boys had an incredible unbeaten run to finish as winners of the Jim Wishart Tournament, conceding only one goal on their way to the final against Onslow College, where they held their composure to win the shootout 4–3. Captain, Noah Cole (Y13), was awarded MVP of the Tournament and Samuel Cook (Y12) the Golden Boot with seven goals. The Girls’ 1st XI also played well to finish third in the Lotto Sportswear Tournament. After losing a tight semi-final to Otago Girls’ High School in a shootout, the girls had a strong 2–0 win over St Hilda’s Collegiate in the playoff for third and fourth.

Netball

The Senior A Girls’ netball team continued their great run of form at South Island Secondary School Championships, finishing fifth overall and once again qualifying for the national tournament. Unbeaten in pool play, the team faced a strong St Hilda’s Collegiate team in the quarter-final, going down 26–37, which put them in the playoffs for fifth to eighth place. Two impressive wins against Marian College 31–22, and Villa Maria College 30–19, saw them take fifth overall.

Roundup of other sports

Golf

St Andrew’s College golfers played extremely well to finish ninth overall out of 21 of the best school teams from around the country in the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Championships. The players best gross rounds counted each day. Ethan Lam (Y12) was the top performer with rounds of 70 and 75 across the two day competition, with James Walker (Y13) scoring 76 and 74, and Yuhan (Uny) Shao (Y11) scoring 76 and 72.

Equestrian

The StAC Thistles equestrian team, comprising Georgia Lewis, Makayla Lochrie (both Y11), Heidi Kendrick, Ruby Tappin (both Y12) and Ruby MacDonald (Y10), finished third overall in team placings at the South Island Secondary Schools’ Equestrian Championships. A number of individuals also reached the podium in various events – Ella Smith (Y13), Taylor Quaid (Y11), Georgia Lewis, Martha McRae (both Y12), Lucy Charteris (Y13) and Millie Rosewarne (Y7), with Georgia Lewis and Heidi Kendrick winning the Mounted Games.

Badminton

St Andrew’s students achieved some great results at the Canterbury Secondary Schools’ Badminton Championships. In the Year 11–13 Women’s singles final, Yuxin (Alice) Chen (Y11) beat Yutian (Tianna) Chen (Y10) 2–0 with the girls teaming up to win the doubles. Christian Li (Y11) and Louis Hu (Y12) made the semi-finals in the Year 11–13 Men’s singles and won the Year 11–13 Men’s doubles. Fanxi (Elsa) Meng (Y10) made the semi-finals in the Year 9–10 Girls’ singles.

Rugby

Four rugby teams competed in various tournaments during Winter Tournament Week. At the South Island Secondary Schools’ U15 Rugby Tournament, the St Andrew’s team had mixed results, losing the bowl final to Rangiora High School. The U16 Boys finished third in their U16 Quad Tournament, and the Girls’ team finished fifth at the Buller 10s. The 1st XV participated in the ISNZ 1st XV Invitational Tournament, where there were no overall placings.

Hockey photo credit: Ned Dawson