Lara Biggs, Emma Stagg, Katie Dolan, Mollie Gibson and Emma Jansen were in good form last weekend at the South Island Rowing Championships. Ashburton rowers came home with a decent haul of medals from the South Island Rowing Championships last weekend.

The Ashburton Rowing Club had 29 competitors at the regatta which was held on Lake Ruataniwha near Twizel, picking up nine medals across the course of the competition.

Coach Justin Wall said they walked away from the regatta with their heads held high after some positive results.

“The squad are doing very well,” he said.

“We achieved some good results on the weekend and there were some great performances across the board.”

The Ashburton effort was, again, spearheaded by the incredible talent of Veronica Wall who walked away with three gold medals for her efforts as she continues a meteoric rise up the ranks of rowing on the national stage.

Wall picked up victories in the girls’ under 17, girls’ under 19 and open women’s single sculls extending her unbeaten streak in single sculls events to 46 races.

She hasn’t tasted solo defeat since competing at last year’s national championships where she produced a clean sweep in the women’s club single sculls, but was beaten in the under 20 and under 22 women’s single sculls.

Racing on the weekend was held in tricky conditions which Wall said had been plaguing rowing for most of the season.

“It’s been the same all season really, it’s added plenty of complications to competitions.”

Other rowers from Ashburton to impress at the regatta included Harrison Davies, who after winning his heat produced a strong effort to pick up the bronze medal in the under 17 boys’ single sculls final.

Ashburton’s women’s club coxed four of Fran Connelly-Whyte, Penny Young, Grace Wilson, Charlotte Cox and Mac Burdett produced two strong efforts in both their heat and then final to pick up a bronze medal.

The men’s novice coxed four of Wyatt Burrows, Artem Kravchenko, Caleb Pierre, Jared Matson and Patrick Dekker picked up a silver medal as well while the girls’ under 16 coxed quad sculls of Lara Biggs, Mollie Biggs, Katie Dolan, Emma Stagg and Emma Jansen did the same.

Davies’ bronze medal was also matched when Michael Wall joined Burrows, Kravchenko, Matson and Dekker to finish third in the men’s novice coxed quad sculls.

The third bronze medal came when Burrows and Wall combined forces to finish third in the men’s novice double sculls.

The focus for the club is now firmly on the New Zealand Club Nationals back at Lake Ruataniwha on February 14, where there will be 12-13 Ashburton rowers in action.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 3 February 2017

Ashburton College bowler Harry McMillan celebrates destroying the castle of a Christ’s College player on the weekend. Photo Doug BovettWill Graham’s first job as the captain of the Ashburton College 1st XI cricket side might not have gone well, but everything else the young, rising talent did on the weekend couldn’t have gone much better.

The 17-year-old led from the front for his side, producing a superhuman effort with both bat and ball in their outright victory against Christ’s College 2nd XI over two-days in Christchurch.

Graham scored 127 in the team’s second innings (the first century for the club since Kurt Polson’s in 2011) as well as five wickets in the first innings.

After losing his first task as captain, by losing the toss, Graham and his side were sent in to bat on a bowler-friendly wicket.

Ashburton College were soon in trouble at 57/6, with Graham back in the sheds, having top scored with 23, before a small recovery between debutants Tom Middleton and Brad Van Der Eik got the team though to 83 before being dismissed for 88.

New opening bowler, Harry McMillan then bowled superbly to claim the first three wickets and have Christ’s 15/4.

Graham then snared the first of his five wickets by dismissing his younger brother Thom, who is attending Christ’s College, before wrapping up the tail.

Gareth Hunt also took two wickets to see the home side dismissed for 81.

Ashburton College then set about building their lead late on Saturday and finished at 98/2, a lead of 91. Graham was 50 not out, while new opener Isaac Bazley overcame a nervous first innings to make 21.

Sunday saw Graham notch up his century, as wickets fell cheaply around him, before Middleton (18) and Jayden Fuller 20 not out provided some support getting the team to 232/9 declared, setting the home team 240 to win in 60 overs.

Incidentally, younger brother Thom did get his revenge by eventually dismissing Will for 127.

Ashburton College got off to a great start in the fourth innings when another debutante, James Forbes, picked up four quick wickets to have Christ’s struggling at 23/4.

The last six wickets proved a lot more difficult as the home team dug in for the draw, their resistance finally ended in the 49th over as they were bowled out for 110.

Forbes picked up another to give him five while McMillan, Hunt, Tom Ravenscroft, Fuller and of course, Will Graham, all snared one each.

It was a double honours board effort for Graham while Forbes will also have his name etched onto the board for his five-wicket effort.

It gets even tougher for Ashburton College when they take on Christchurch Boys High 3rds over the next two Saturdays.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 31 January 2017

New at the helm of Ashburton College, Ross Preece is leading Mid Canterbury’s largest secondary school towards huge roll growth and an approaching era of technological change. Photo Susan Sandys One of Ross Preece’s first jobs after beginning as the new Ashburton College principal this month was to meet with the Ministry of Education.

It was regarding the subject of roll growth, and the subsequent need for building improvements.

The allocation of significant funds are on the horizon as the school’s 2017 roll of 1220 is expected to climb to 1600 within the next 10 years.

It’s not the only change anticipated as the school moves into the future.

There are challenges faced by the education system as a whole as the entire careers landscape develops in the face of rapid technological advances.

They are challenges Preece believes Ashburton College needs to tackle front on, and it is something he has experience with from his previous job as principal at Whangamata Area School in the Coromandel.

“Pretty much our students were paperless, apart from assignments and assessments,” he said.

The 57-year-old has a goal for this year, and that is to help staff, parents and students understand the need for such developments.

“He won’t be making the college paperless just yet, however.

“It will happen gradually and over time, but it’s not something I need to put my energies into.

“In the same way that slates and chalk no longer exist in schools, within 10 to 20 years any information will be transferred digitally.”

He gave the example of driverless cars in Singapore, and solar-powered rubbish bins in Whangamata.

The latter compact automatically, meaning they need emptying only once every 10 days.

“There’s a job that’s disappeared because of technology. But there has to be someone to design the solar cells and set up the systems, so the future is about equipping students with the skills they need to maximise their chances of being productive citizens in the future,” Preece said.

“Schools used to be about giving students knowledge, ensuring they had enough information crammed into their heads and passed exams.

“Now we have Google and Suri, information is instantly available. It’s about our students being equipped with the skills to be successful in the future – the ability to communicate, collaborate, to think for themselves and problem solve.”

Preece is also enthusiastic about the possibility of introducing an outdoor education programme at Ashburton College.

The surrounding environment gave the opportunity for classes in fields as diverse as hunting and fishing and yachting, he said, and the school had a responsibility to ensure a broad curriculum.

Additionally he was hoping to encourage collaboration across the teaching of different subjects.

He said at primary and intermediate level, students experienced rich interdisciplinary learning, but at secondary school they shifted between classes which taught just one subject each.

Teachers could consider how they could work across various subjects together.

Preece is from Christchurch originally, and taught for 22 years before beginning his career as a principal at Murchison Area School in 2006. He was principal of Whangamata Area School from 2008.

“I have been an educational gypsy, I have moved around with the job,” he said.

The latest move from the Coromandel to Mid Canterbury has come with a big change in climate.

He and wife Paula, who have three adult children, have bought a home in Ashburton, and recently found themselves lighting the fire on a cold summer’s day.

In Whangamata it rarely drops to single digits, and last year there was just one frost.

“If it’s nine degrees I get parents writing me notes – ‘Please excuse my son’s puffer jacket because of the extreme cold’,” he said.

“But I’m from Christchurch so I remember cold.”

He and Paula plan to join a local golf club in the Ashburton area as they both enjoy playing the sport.

Preece is also a keen fisherman, and used to play many sports including rugby, basketball and cricket, as well as both playing and coaching volleyball.

By Susan Sandys © The Ashburton Guardian - 30 January 2017