Thank you to everyone who sent out messages of good luck to our teams over the past week and to those who were tracking them each day across our social media and schedule. 

Carmel Hockey at the Federation Cup New Zealand National Tournament 

The 1st XI Hockey team have just finished down in Christchurch and is only the 2nd time in Carmel history that they have competed at this Tier 1 level.  The growth and development of the team throughout the week has been momentous.  The scoreboard did not reflect the determination and heart of each and every player during their matches.

A big thank you must go to coaches, Paul McGoon and Marijke McGoon; manager, Bernadette Mark; and assistant manager, Hollie Smith for the 1st Xl.

Big shout out to coach, Kathy Giles and Georgina Bryce; manager, Nicky Jordan and Lianne Timlin from the 2nd and 3rd XI this season.

Your constant support of these girls is what the Carmel sporting community is about.  We say goodbye to Year 13 students, Amy O’Neill, Emily Roberts, Emalie Vea and Yardley Barker from the 1st XI, plus Hope Sakey and Tamsin Dales from the 2nd Xl.

Upper North Islands Netball Tournament 2023

Congratulations to the Senior Netball team for their 20th place finish in A Grade at this tournament.  10 games over 5 days is not easy.

A big thank you to coach, Samantha Lautala and manager, Mikayla Kooiman for being with the team for the week and the entire 2023 season.  Also to the entire team of supporters behind them!

Carmel Netball says goodbye to Year 13 Mya Kingi from this Premier team, plus Sylvie Taylor, India Flavell and an entire group of social players.

A shoutout must go to the many Year 13 students who have coached our Year 7-10 for the previous 3 years.

The Carmel 1st Xl Football team has gone from strength to strength in 2023

With an unbeaten run through their winter tournament at the Kathy Seaward event this week, they placed 2nd overall and highest placing ever at this tournament.  This is a big result for the team and Carmel Football; a true testament to this incredible group of players, management and supporters behind them.

We now say goodbye to the three Wāhine Toa Year 13 players who have been there from the start – Hilary Halpin, Libby Clinton and Brianna Walker – let your legacy carry forward.

A massive thank you must go to coach, Anna Lovegrove; manager,  Jo Redfern-Hardisty and team helper, Rachael Chandler.  Thank you to Vanessa Hunt for all the team photos!

Basketball Northern Regional Tournament

A big thank you must go to Matua for overseeing the Senior Basketball team at their tournament, even having to step in and ref a game.  They placed 10th overall in the Northern Premiership, which unfortunately does not qualify them for Nationals later this year.  Big growth for the team to come over the next couple of years with 7 of the 11 players still in Year 10 competing at a Senior event.

Thank you to Kyle Aspinall for coaching this team and to Clare O’Sullivan for stepping in as their manager for the week.

Equestrian North Islands Championships

The equestrian team headed to the Equestrian North Islands Championships last week to compete for Carmel College.

With a team of 5 riders and 6 ponies there was a lot of running from arena to arena to support the girls as they competed in Dressage (shows a horse’s discipline), Show Jumping (jumping coloured poles) and Arena Eventing (coloured poles as well as solid jumps).   We even had two riders compete in the Competitive Trail ride – a 10k ride where you work to be under time and have a horse with a low heart rate at the end.

All the girls did exceptionally well.  We had two new to competing for Carmel; one with a young horse which is just starting out and two experienced girls.  It was a great mix of girls who gave support where needed but also had fun.

Xanthia McNeil, Sascha McNeil, Maia Taylor, Milly Scott and Caitlyn Wilkin all rode their hearts out over the week.  With classes of over 56 riders it meant for some tough competition.  We managed to secure the below placings which Carmel should be proud of, as the level of competition was outstanding and these girls put in a mammoth effort to ensure they came home with some ribbons.

• Caitlyn Wilkin – 1st 1.05cm Arena Eventing; 1st 95cm Arena Eventing; 4th 95cm Arena Eventing; 1st 90-1m Show Jumping
• Milly Scott – 2nd 80-90cm Show Hunter; 4th 80-90cm Show Jumping; 5th overall Rider 80-90cm from 33 combinations