Ashburton’s Kate Lloyd and her Mainland Tactix netball team mates will play a pre-season double-header in Ashburton next month. Photo supplied.Mid Canterbury netball fans are in for a treat next month, with the Mainland Tactix confirming they’re bringing a pre-season double-header to Ashburton.

The two matches against the Southern Steel at the EA Networks Centre will be the first time the Tactix have played in Ashburton and Mid Canterbury Netball president Karla Newlands said it’s great news for the region.

“It is exciting to have our top zone team the Tactix playing for the first time in Ashburton.

“These games will help to lift the profile of netball in Mid Canterbury prior to the season,” Newlands said.

“It is good exposure for the game and will get local netballers right behind the Tactix for 2019.”

The Tactix and the defending ANZ Premiership champion Steel side will spend two days in Ashburton, playing pre-season games against each other on both Saturday February 2 and Sunday February 3.

They will be joined by the national Beko Netball League sides from both regions, and they will also do battle on both days.

Players will also take time out from their weekend in Ashburton to run a coaching session with local kids aged from Year 5 to Year 10 on the Saturday morning and registration for that session will be done through Mid Canterbury Netball.

Among those set to take to the court in the weekend’s main matches will be Ashburton’s own Kate Lloyd, a former Ashburton College student who has re-joined the Tactix for the 2019 season after spending a year in Hamilton playing for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic.

“With the return of our own Kate Lloyd to the team it makes this even more of a special occasion,” Newlands said.

Mid Canterbury hosted some top-level netball last season when the Mainland Beko team played two of their matches at the EA Networks Centre. The national Beko Netball League is a tier below the ANZ premiership which teams including the Tactix and Steel compete in.

“These games were well supported by the community, so we look forward to Mid Canterbury getting well behind the Tactix,” Newlands said.

Tickets for the February games will be available at the door. Under-16s will get in for free, while tickets for adults will cost $5 per day. Admission will cover both the Tactix and Mainland Beko side’s game.

The Saturday game between the Tactix and the Steel will hit the court at 2pm and the Sunday game will get under way at 10am.

The Beko sides will play at 4pm on the Saturday and midday on the Sunday.

The games will be a vital piece of the pre-season puzzle for both the Tactix and Steel as they prepare for the 2019 ANZ Premiership which will get under way on February 24.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 11 January 2019

Ocean Waitokia won the Caroline Bay Talent Quest at the weekend. Photo Susan SandysThere are not many singers who can pull off an impressive rendition of The Bodyguard classic, I Will Always Love You.

But Ocean Waitokia from Ashburton managed it, with her cover so impressive it won the Caroline Bay Talent Quest intermediate section for 17 years and under.

The 16-year-old said she sang the song in its most popularly known style as delivered by the iconic Whitney Houston.

It got her through auditions and the semi-finals on Friday, before mesmerising crowds at the quest on Saturday.

“It feels good to be back in the game,” said the Ashburton College Year 12 pupil of the win.

The experience was her singing career highlight since going to America in 2017 for the World Championships of Performing Arts.

However when she thought about it, there was just as much to be proud of last year, when she was overall runner-up in the country music Star Awards in Tauranga.

Ocean has been singing since she was just three, when her grandmother Linda took her to a fundraising event for the Ashburton Trust Event Centre held on the East Street chessboard. Ronald McDonald was there, where he held a Fifteen Seconds of Fame event. Ocean sang Tutira Mai, and won a bicycle.

Her talent has since seen her hit the high notes with many a country music festival award over the years, and even be hosted by a talent show in Germany.

Ocean does not plan to make music her career, instead looking at either becoming an orthodontist or marine biologist, but will continue to perform whenever she can.

“I will always have music with me. I like meeting new people, and all the new experiences it brings.”

By Susan Sandys © The Ashburton Guardian - 8 January 2019

Ashburton College teacher Greta Hampton, preparing to spend her summer holidays studying the Holocaust at the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Photo Sue NewmanWhen an opportunity comes along to chase a dream, you have to grab it with both hands, says Greta Hampton.

The Ashburton College social science and history teacher will shortly be winging her way to Israel where she will spend three weeks as part of a group study programme on the Holocaust and its impact on the modern world.

She’s been fascinated by that dark period in modern history for many years and this year introduced the Holocaust into her Year 11 history programme.

“She believes that history cannot be a subject that is seen as something unrelated to students’ lives, instead it must also be relevant and be something they can understand in context of their own lives.

To add the personal touch to their Holocaust studies, she brought several second generation holocaust survivors to school to talk to students.

Largely it’s a topic for Year 11, but this year she’s hoping to introduce an element of the Holocaust into her programme for Year 9.

She hopes the three-week study course in Jerusalem will provide her with new skills she can use to teach the topic.

“History always needs to be taught in a way that’s meaningful, it’s just not about the facts and figures, it’s about the people and the stories about the people.

The Jews refused to give up and that’s important to understand.

“For me it’s a privilege to be able to teach this,” she said.

Greta gained her place on the study programme through the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand.

She is one of 27 Kiwi teachers who will be part of the programme, chosen from 180 who applied for a place.

While there might be a few opportunities to be a tourist, she knows the days will be long, with many lectures as well as visits to some of the most important sites, such as Schindler’s Grave and the Holocaust Museum.

“I know this will be life-changing personally and professionally.

“I’ll be coming back with knowledge I can pass on to my students, knowledge that’s so important and knowledge that’s still relevant today,” she said.

Greta has been interested in the Holocaust since she was young.

Teaching saw that passion grow and having her own children saw it ignite.

“It’s about the people, the children and what they went through, I want my children to grow up in a world without prejudice,” she said.

She is no stranger to overseas study programmes, having travelled to Korea in 2016 through the Asia Foundation New Zealand to study the culture and history of the country.

While she’s the one who’ll be studying over summer, Greta said the knowledge she gains will be of huge benefit to her students.

In addition, she said it was good for students to see their teachers taking opportunities to extend their own learning.

“I’m passionate about lifelong learning and about being the best teacher I can be.”

She wants to be a changemaker in the lives of her students.

“If I can inspire one person to learn a bit more about the Holocaust then I’m doing something right.”

She’s been a member of the college’s staff for 10 years and said she is always looking for opportunities to improve her knowledge and upskill as a teacher.

“I’m trying to build the history programmes to include topics that are enjoyable, relevant and meaningful for the kids and the Holocaust definitely fits that brief.”

Winning a place on the study trip saw Greta sign on for hours of background reading.

“Some of that is pretty heavy but I’m also watching a lot of films and documentaries based around the Holocaust.

“I want to be in a position to get the best out of this as I can.”

By Sue Newman © The Ashburton Guardian - 7 January 2019