Term 2 challenges

Term 2 presented a very different scenario for sport at Dio. Lockdown meant that all sport across the nation, from grass roots to national and international levels was put on hold; some competitions postponed or modified, others cancelled for 2020.

Dio provided a number of home programmes to keep the girls, their parents and the staff active during lockdown. Four times a week Fitness Centre Manager

Bella provided 45-minute workout videos that ranged from core to all over body workouts. These were very well received by our community and will be used in the future as part of the Fitness

Centre programmes.

The Sports Department also offered some sport-specific programmes for water polo and hockey.

Diocesan’s Water Polo Manager Gabby Oloapu set up resources for the girls to use during lockdown. There were even some home pool sessions for the girls to train remotely with their peers. One of our favourite moments was when Lucy and Emma Gilleece’s sausage dog decided to join in their training! The girls were also sent quizzes including general knowledge and iconic ‘what happened next?’ videos. They had a daily schedule to follow that incorporated land-based training, including ball-handling skills and Zoom fitness sessions three times per week where they could link up with their teammates. Gabby also conducted some tactical sessions with various teams to get them ready to get back into the pool. It was a great way to stay connected.

Hockey Manager Jason Butcher engaged with the hockey community in a number of ways throughout lockdown. There were online live development sessions (run through Zoom) including pilates with ex Kookaburra Nick Budgeon, skill development and goalkeeper sessions, as well as culture workshops. Jason also ran some fun activities with the girls including weekly quiz competitions with prizes and technique feedback using sports software Hudl.

Just in case the girls needed more to occupy themselves, a number of other resources were distributed, including running conditioning home programmes, goalkeeper and field player simulated running, strength and skill development using a video resource, a goalkeeper development programme, and stick handling video tutorial resources.

Football team Dio Day Out Jazz Band

Hockey team

Netball team

P&F SHIELD GAMES

In 2020 the strong competitive sporting rivalry continued between Diocesan and St Cuthbert’s College. It is awesome to see the two schools pushing each other to showcase women’s sport in its most positive environment.

Before lockdown, the Dio water polo team competed for the Parents and Friends’ Trophy, the third year that this competition has been played. Sophie Shorter-Robinson, Morgan McDowall and Lauren Batchelor (on her premier debut) found the net with the team pulling away convincingly in the second half, winning the game 7-3.

Football played the first P&F cup game for this code with the Diocesan girls coming out on top in a closefought 1-0 victory. Imogen Foley scored a screamer from way out to make the difference.

The hockey and netball teams played their fixtures on the same day with incredible support during the ‘Dio Day Out’. Head Prefects Maddy Gault and Francesca Masfen engaged the whole School community and organised a great crowd of spectators. The Sports Council provided snacks and Diocesan performing arts provided entertainment. The newly formed Clyde Street Jazz Band delighted the home crowd before the hockey hit off and the Hip Hop crew provided a great break from a frantic netball game at half time. It was truly a celebration of what has been a very different Term 2. 2-0 game. The Diocesan girls showed amazing grit, determination and improvement throughout the game and we are looking forward to seeing them play during the rest of this season.

The netball game started at a frenetic pace, with both teams guilty of errors. The Dio Premiers led in the first quarter by two goals, settled early and went to a healthy halftime lead. They then took the game by the horns and won the third quarter by five goals. Not to be outdone, St Cuthbert’s had a late surge in the fourth quarter, but the Premiers kept their lead, taking out the game 27-16. A superb shooting game by Clementine Dryden and determined defensive pressure by Maddy Frear helped the Premiers reclaim the shield for 2020.

CHRIS HAYWARD INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

With the cancellation of most summer national competitions due to COVID-19, New Zealand Water Polo put together the Chris Hayward Invitational Tournament for New Zealand’s top secondary school teams. We were fortunate to enter both our Premier and Senior A teams.

The lead up to this tournament was quite different for our athletes with many coming out of lockdown with no water training, and with our pool being closed it made things all the more difficult. Both teams travelled all over Auckland to be able to train in the water and get up to competition standard.

Senior A played extremely well throughout the tournament with girls from Years 9-11 participating. They came out with one win, a draw and two losses against other schools’ top teams in pool play. They earned seventh place in their final game against St Cuthbert’s Senior A – an incredible result for such a young team.

After only a week of training, the Premier team (defending national champions), was in great form going into the tournament. With New Zealand’s greatest talent Morgan McDowall leading the team, along with Olivia Clark, they dominated play throughout the whole tournament, playing some fantastic water polo and won the gold medal in a game against Mount Maungnui with a score of 13-1.

Congratulations to all the girls, coaches and managers on a successful tournament.