The captains of Ashburton College’s sporting teams are preparing to take their teams into battle next week, in the annual schools’ tournament week. Photo Katie ToddAshburton College sporting teams are heading to all corners of the country next week for the annual national secondary schools’ tournament week.

Ashburton College has 12 teams heading to various tournaments, including four basketball teams.

The school’s senior boys have the least distance to travel of all teams.

Their tournament – the AA Secondary Schools non-qualifying boys’ tournament – is on home soil, at Ashburton’s EA Networks Centre.

It will run from next Wednesday to Saturday.

The school’s senior girls have a big road trip ahead though, with their AA Secondary Schools’ Premiership Zone 4 tournament in Invercargill.

Both sides will be hopeful of strong showings, with the college girls having finished seventh in this season’s Canterbury secondary schools’ Whelan Trophy division one competition, and the boys narrowly going down to Papanui High School in the final of the boys’ equivalent Thomson Trophy division two competition earlier this week.

The Ashburton College junior basketball sides will both contest junior zone four South Island premierships, with the boys heading to Nelson and the girls to Timaru.

Also heading to Timaru is the Ashburton College boys’ first XI hockey team.

There, they will play in the Johnson Cup tournament.

Joining the girls basketballers in Invercargill will be the Ashburton College boys’ first XI football team, where they will play in the Linwood Tournament, while the girls’ first XI football team will head to Blenheim for the Gary Sowden Tournament.

The third Ashburton College team heading to Invercargill is the girls’ first XI hockey team, and they’ll be playing in the Audrey Timlin Memorial Tournament.

Ashburton College’s senior A netball side is also heading south, but only as far as Dunedin, for the South Island Secondary Schools’ Netball Championships, while the school’s junior boys’ rugby team will take part in a junior rugby tournament in Queenstown.

For the first time in a few years, Ashburton College will also be represented at the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Golf Championships.

The team of Brent Kirdy, Wilson Hii, Josh Ackerley and Brayden Wood will head to Palmerston North to contest that title from Monday through to Friday.

An Ashburton College golf croquet team will also be eyeing up a national title when they head to the two-day New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Golf Croquet Championships.

That is being held out of Waikanae and Paraparaumu next weekend.

Mount Hutt College will also feature at the golf croquet in Paraparaumu.

The golf croquet team is one of four sporting sides from the Methven school heading away to tournament week.

Mount Hutt will also have a mixed hockey side in action in Oamaru, a basketball side in action in Nelson, and their netballers are also heading to Dunedin like the Ashburton College A side for the South Island Secondary Schools’ Championships.

Back home there is one other tournament being hosted as part of the big tournament week.

Ashburton will host the Chris Arthur Cup Second XI girls’ hockey tournament at the Ashburton hockey turf, although there’s no local teams taking part. It will see two pools of girls’ teams from around New Zealand compete from Monday through to Friday.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 31 August 2018