Netball

We had big plans for netball this year, with a pre-season programme in full swing before trials and umpire sessions in the works. Then we hit lockdown again mid-February and for a span of a few weeks we moved in and out of level 3 until March 7th. This made conducting trials difficult to do but the amazing netball team pulled through.

What an amazing season we managed to have from that point, Rangitoto College is lucky to have such talented and dedicated players that turn up each week to give it their all. A special mention must go to the Premier team, their coaches Ripeka Pirie and Jamie Sowter, and their manager Nataleigh Moe. This team had come together to create a culture of the likes I had not seen during my time as Teacher in Charge of netball. They support each other and those new to the team throughout the season and leave everything on the court. Their success, finishing undefeated in the championship round of Premier Grade, is a testament to their hard work and dedication. Watch this space 2021.

Miss Collard (TIC of Netball)

We had an increase in teams this season with a total of 26 teams spanning across our Open College through to Year 9. With this comes a lot of volunteers who graciously give up their time week in and week out to help get our players out on court, from coaches to managers to umpires to scorekeepers. We appreciate and thank you all.

Big and special THANK YOU to Miss Collard, our dedicated Teacher in Charge of netball. Miss Collard’s passion and dedication for Rangitoto netball does not go unnoticed. Miss Collard spends hours down at the courts, consistently supporting our teams and helping in whatever capacity was needed from organising gear, umpires, players, stepping in to coach when coaches are sick. A true superstar!

As we farewell our Year 13s who have contributed to Rangitoto netball either by playing, umpiring and/or coaching over their five years at the college, thank you for your positive contribution to our programme and we wish you all the best. Stay in the game and stay in touch.

This goes with a special acknowledgement to Lydia Moe.

Lydia has been the starting goal attack for our Premier team since Year 9 and has been a big part of the college’s netball success over her college career. Lydia captained the Premier team successfully this year (and last) and has shown true leadership, resilience and courage while proudly wearing the red dress. We will miss watching the trademark Lydia “swoosh” as that ball seamlessly falls through the net from any range in the goal circle.

Nataleigh Moe (Netball Coordinator)

Netball cannot be played without umpires to officiate on the side-line. Come rain or shine our umpires are always the first on court. We are extremely lucky to have you give up your precious time officiating every Saturday morning and Monday evening. This year has been an extremely successful year for our Rangitoto umpires. Many of them have taken their next steps in their umpiring careers and been promoted through the qualifications. This is due to their own hard work and perseverance. Congratulations to all of you that have progressed this year and thank you for always being willing to fill in last minute gaps when needed.

We had a new head coach this season, Ripeka Pirie, who gave our team a promising outlook into how the season would play out.

We had a soaring start to the season winning the first round with only one loss, exciting the team for round two and UNISS. By the end of round two we were unbeaten and set to be in the final against Carmel College who we’d beaten twice before. However, Covid-19 had other plans. NZ went into a snap lockdown on the 17th of August cancelling our final and ultimately causing the cancellation of UNISS, the second year in a row. In saying this there were many positives that came out of this year; due to lockdowns our team met continually over zoom, doing quizzes, workouts, dance lessons and more which brought our team closer than ever before. Lastly, we just want to say what an honour it has been putting on the red dress. The lessons we have received from being a part of the Rangitoto netball community are invaluable.

We cannot thank Rangitoto netball enough.