14 Sep 2023 – The Maniototo Area School teams improved steadily throughout the weekend and peaked at the right end of the competition to win both the Boys' and Girls' titles at last weekend's South Island Secondary School Championships.

Trinity College dominated the Girls' double round-robin, and their 5-1 win-loss record made them the top qualifier for the final. Maniototo and the Columba College Doves were both at 3-3 and shared the honours in their pool games, but Maniototo's superior Draw Shot Challenge qualified them for the final.

Their final didn't disappoint as a spectacle. Trinity trailed by 3 points with two ends to play, and stole both to level the scores at 7-7 after the regulation 8 ends. Maniototo then scored the single they needed with hammer to win the match and the gold medal.

John McGlashan College had a clean sweep through the Boy's single round-robin, and Maniototo dropped just one game. These two sides played the Otago Boys' High School White and Blue sides respectively in the semi-finals, where Maniototo had a solid 7-3 win over OBHS Blue. It was a much tougher game for John McGlashan who needed an extra end to overcome OBHS White.

The final was full of action with plenty of points scored early. Maniototo took control with two big steals in the second half of the match, and ran out the winners 10-5. Otago Boys Blue won the bronze medal 8-3 against their schoolmates.

The camaraderie displayed both on and off the ice was a feature of the weekend, where the age range of the players was from 12 to 18.

Full results are available here.
 

Final Standings

Girls

1. Maniototo Area School
   Olivia Russell, Reef Becker, Mahaliya Pike, Indianna Hepi
2. Trinity College
   Olivia Oram, Sarah Oram, Ellie McKenzie, Bella Stewart
3. Columba College Doves
   Amy Hill, Tylah James, Catalina Nock, Talika Chalmers
4. Bayfield High School Heavy Sweepers
   Finch Mills, Davina Du, Tahlia Jones, Miriama Lewis-Samson, Kaela Freeland

Boys

1. Maniototo Area School
   Jack Steele, Jonty Russell, Jeremy Dumapis, Jayson Dumapis
2. John McGlashan College
   Jed Nevill, William Hutton-Atkins, Harry Ryan, Hayden Pringle
3. Otago Boys High School Blue
   Ben Kinney, Freddie Hore, Hamish Leyser, Hayden Becker
4. Otago Boys High School White
   Mason McCreanor, Tom Bankshaw, George Geck, Xavier Connell
5. Bayfield High School Burlers
   Archie Vorgers, Jupiter Gordon, Chris Gray, Mekalo Jackson

Spirit of Curling

• Tahlia Jones (Bayfield HS) and Jonty Russell (Maniototo AS)

Boys winners Maniototo Area School

Girls winners Maniototo Area School

Spirit of Curling winners Tahlia Jones (Bayfield) and Jonty Russell (Maniototo)