Multisport/Adventure Racing

The Hillary Challenge

“Probably the toughest and most competitive school’s competition in the world at over five days!” – quote from Craig Cook of AR Live Coverage. A team of eight students from Whakatāne and Trident high schools have just returned from the Hillary Final gaining an amazing 3rd place in the National Final. This is the first time any BOP team has made a podium place in this gruelling challenge. Day 1 and 2 of the event had 12 one hour challenges. These can be physical, or mental teamwork challenges which provide a chance for teams to see how they can overcome all types of problems. The second day saw horrible weather – cold, sleet and snow hit the team, turning many blue and shivering. They went caving, paddling, biking, climbed the high ropes, solved tangram/tetris puzzles, made a fire and cooked damper for the judges. We ended up 4th at the end of Day 2 (out of 12 teams). Days 3 and 4 were a two day rogaine around Mount Ruapehu. The teams had to locate points around the mountain and camp overnight. The weather was atrocious, going down to -4 degrees overnight and racking up 15cm of snow. Trying to navigate their way around in blizzard conditions was tough but the team survived and arrived at the finish safely and happy to be done. If all of this was not bad enough, the final day was simply a 45km race including paddling, running and biking. The teams were shattered but gave their all for the title. After 4 hours and 45 minutes of tough terrain, the team finally finished this event 4th. We thought we would be 4th overall after talking with the other teams but we were stunned to hear us being called out for 3rd place. This is the first time a BOP school has made the podium which is a truly outstanding achievement. I can safely say this is the hardest five days I have ever experienced as a support to the students. They were fantastic and never gave up. They gelled as a team and looked after each other so well. I am so proud of the team. Thanks has to go to Sarah Miller and Hedley for taking the students on the tramps and to Sarah for coming along for the five days. Also, thanks to the sponsors – Julian’s Berry Farm, Isaac’s Dental Surgery, The Community Board and the Southern Trust. The team was: Alex Manning, Anna Isaac, Cambell Julian, Jack Wilson, Kiera Dooley, Liam Dooley, Milla Dibben and Oliva Nolan. Get2Go report

We took two teams of eight juniors to the Regional Get2Go championships in August. The event consists of four activities which all 24 schools compete at. The events are rock climbing, orienteering, mountain biking and paddle boarding/kayaking. The students had to do quite a bit of training over the three months leading up to the event but were ready for the challenge. Both teams did extremely well but we were just beaten to first place by a strong Trident team. The teams eventually came second and fifth out of the 24 that competed. It is a wonderful competition that gets the junior students outside and pushes them out of their comfort zone. We will be looking at challenging for the top spot again next year. Hopefully, some of the Year 10 students will move on to compete in the Senior Hillary Challenge next year. This would be an awesome experience for them.

The A-team was made up of:

Zoe Giles, Ashlyn Bennett, Finn Jones, Fjord Hagger, Jesse Byford-Pothan, Monique Prasad, Lily Isaac and Jai Julian.

The B-team was made up of:

Amanda Stuart, Ben Peat, Sam Littlejohn, Laura Hamill, Tom Hamill, Ethan Heal, Ella Murphy, Bea Knapton. Whangamata Adventure Race 2021

Whakatāne High School took two senior teams and one junior team to this event. The Senior Team Event was a twelve hour race and the Junior Team Event was a six hour race. The teams had to navigate through dense bush, climb steep hills, and race in the dark, collecting as many checkpoints as possible in the alloted time. The senior teams came 3rd and 4th in their grade and were suitably stuffed at the end. The weather conditions made it pretty tough as the team was hit by strong winds and, at times, heavy rain. The senior teams were made up of Alex Manning, Olivia and Teigan Nolan, Milla Dibben, Jack Wilson (Trident), Cambell Julian, Liam and Kiera Dooley.

The junior team took out their division and were crowned champions the following day. The junior team of Jai Julian, Finn Jones, Zoe Giles and Monique Prasad also took out the Kawerau Six Hour Adventure Race in July so they are certainly ones to watch over the next four years of their high school careers.