Fun at flippa ball training
Futsal training with coach Dilraj from Auckland Futsal
Junior School
WINTER SPORTS Overall, it has been a very challenging winter sports season with lots of starting and stopping and waiting for information and decisions. The girls are very lucky to have access to such great facilities on-site at Dio; our pool, turf, courts and the School Hall. These facilities and our great team of senior student and external coaches enabled the girls to re-engage whenever it was safe to do so. It was with renewed gratitude that we witnessed our girls playing sport with such joy and enthusiasm.
L
ate in Term 3 the Government eased the restrictions imposed during the second lockdown period due to the COVID-19 pandemic so the Junior hockey season was able to restart. The girls made the most of this and participated with great enthusiasm. The hockey season was extended to make up for lost time and our girls continued to field teams during the September school holidays. We managed to capture some fun moments at training with our senior student coaches and the juniors. All in all, a great finish to a challenging season. The Auckland netball season did not fare quite so well, as the restrictions in gathering sizes meant that it was too challenging to hold competition leagues.
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DIO TODAY
Our girls played in just two league games. The Years 5 and 6 girls played at the St John’s Netball Centre and the Years 3 and 4 girls played at Windmill Park in Mt Eden. We did manage to continue our trainings at school as soon as it was considered safe to do so and the girls were able to fully participate in this. The Epsom Flippa Ball League managed to deliver a couple of games in Term 3 and our girls were able to do some training at the Dio pool. It was a joy to see their enthusiasm and energy levels at training. Our senior coaches reported that the girls were bubbling over with excitement at being able to train together once more.
Mercury hockey team with coaches Hannah Bell and Estie Hamilton
The Auckland futsal competition restarted in Term 3 and our girls jumped back into training and league games as soon as they could. This code continues to be extremely popular – they seem to love the Auckland futsal coaches and the fun, relaxed vibe that this code brings. Our Years 3-6 rhythmic gymnastics girls got underway in Term 3, undeterred by not being able to attend school-based training sessions. Instead, we hosted an online training programme using Zoom meetings. Each girl had their own apparatus to use at home including balls and hoops so they could practise and follow our coach during online sessions. They are working towards a competition in November.
