During the first week of the July school holidays, five students from The Catlins Area School travelled to Hamilton to play in the National Area Schools Tournament after being selected earlier in the year. Blake Affleck was selected for football and rugby, Amelia Morrison was selected for netball and football, Jethro Melville was selected for volleyball and basketball, Mauosamoa Fatialofa was selected for rugby and Ezekiel Lealavaa was selected for rugby. 

In this multi-sport tournament all the students played their respective sports every day for three days. There were two teams from each of the North and South Islands. On the fourth day there was an opportunity to be selected in a combined South Island team that would play the North Island in a friendly competition. We had three students selected for South Island teams; Blake was selected for rugby, Amelia Morison was selected for football and Jethro Melville was selected for basketball and volleyball. 

When asked about their favourite thing about the tournament they said:

"I really enjoyed playing my sports with a bunch of different people and it was great to meet new people from the North Island." - Jethro

"I enjoyed seeing everyone again." - Amelia                           

"It was great to meet the new people that got to be my teammates, because they were very cool." - Blake

"It was a good experience to play with people and get to know some people. I got to train with girls and I learned new skills as the trip went by." - Mauosamoa

"It was a great experience to train and play in a team with different players. " - Ezekiel

A sincere thanks to Mrs Cairns, Mrs Hanley and Jen Affleck who supported the team in Te Awamutu. The students are also very grateful for the support that we received from our families and the Catlins Community who supported our fundraising efforts. A special thanks to The Catlins Area School Home and School and the Owaka Lions Club for their financial support. Without the generosity of our community attending such events would not have been possible.

Jethro Melville