Old Boys Events
Sports Day & Dinner:
The annual Sports Day & Dinner was held on Friday September 14th with glorious weather welcoming some 70 Old Boys back to TBC to take on the 2012 vintage in rugby, football, hockey, volleyball & basketball. A final bell time of 3 p.m. start meant there were good numbers watching the different contests which all displayed some fine play. At the end of the day it was Old Boys' Chairman Bill Holland who accepted the Shield on behalf of the older generation with a 4-1 victory. Our rugby team were the only losers (29-33) despite the best efforts of ex-Hawkes Bay rep Jake Kennedy and New Zealand sevens player Nathaniel Walker. The hockey (6-2) & football (4-1) matches were both won quite convincingly by the Old Boys while indoors the basketballers overcame an early deficit when reinforcements in the shape of Guntis Atvars arrived from his teaching job at Otumoetai College, to win 68 to 62. In another closely fought match the older volleyballers emerged victorious 2 sets to 1. A good number retired to Mayfield House afterwards for a celebratory drink !!!
The evening dinner was back to the Graham Young Youth Theatre this year with Old Boy Barry Parkinson (who has taken over as Head of Food Technology this year), Josef Reiter and a number of the Hospitality boys making a fantastic job of catering the delicious 3 course meal. Tauranga College ex-pupil Dr. Bryan Gould was recognized as our 2012 Old Boy of the Year for an outstanding career in a number of areas. After completing a first class Honours degree at Auckland University Bryan was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford and from there served in the British Diplomatic Service. He returned to Britain and had an outstanding career in British politics which saw him contest the Labour Party leadership after which he returned to New Zealand in the mid-90’s as Vice-Chancellor of Waikato University.
Midnight Youth lead singer Jeremy Redmore was our guest speaker & we were treated to an interesting address as well as a couple of songs, one of which was a recent solo effort. This was a magnificent occasion enjoyed by more than 150 Old Boys and it seems to become better by the year.
Wellington Function:
In December I will be in Wellington with a year 10 camp and intend to host an Old Boys' function again as I did last year. It would be great to have another good turn out so if you are in the capital let me know what dates in that first week do not suit you !! We are staying in the middle of town and will host the group somewhere close by; so there are no excuses!!!
Legacy Sleeve:
The 1st XV is looking for support for the 2013 season through sponsorship from previous members of the team. For $100 past players are able to have their names printed into the design of the 2013 jersey of their choice with weekly updates about how the side is performing. More details about this opportunity are to follow shortly but in the meantime, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested.
Fundraising:
The Old Boys' committee is committed to supporting the school and has been asked if we can come up with almost $3000 to upgrade the College Honours boards. I have printed a limited edition (50 copies) of a photograph taken just prior to the Olympic closing ceremony of our 7 Olympians which all 7 have kindly offered to sign personally. If you would like one of these unique souvenirs for $20 please let me know on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
TBC Sport
Winter Tournaments
Football:
The first XI were in Nelson as Waikato/BOP winners and performed well with only a 0-1 loss to eventual winners Mount Albert GS in their pool matches to make the top 8. They ended up placing 8th overall as one of only 2 schools outside Auckland in that top group. A month earlier the team had come second at Super 8 to Palmerston North BHS, losing in a penalty shootout.
Hockey:
The 1st XI was back in the Rankin Cup for the first time since 2008 and began their tournament superbly with a 4-1 win over Auckland GS – the first time we had ever beaten them at this level. A last minute loss to eventual runners-up Westlake BHS & loss to Napier BHS meant the team had to win against Nelson College to stay up in 2013. The team fired up for an 11-0 victory & then beat Palmerston North & again lost to Napier to finish 10th in the country.
The 2nd XI were in Levin playing 1st XI teams at the Founders Cup and began really well in topping their pool. Marlborough BC beat us in the quarter final. We had wins over Horowhenua College & John Paul College and finished with a 5 wins, 1 loss record and a creditable 5th place.
Our Under 15 side was in Hamilton to play the John Tanner Cup and with several eligible players in the 2nd XI it was always going to be a difficult assignment. The boys played well and had a commendable 1 win, 2 draws, 2 losses record while gaining very valuable experience for the future.
Basketball:
This team, coached by new staff member & former Otago Nuggets player Murray Clarke, has had a very good season winning the BOP Secondary Schools champs and placing 3rd in the Super 8. At the Zone 2 Premier tournament the team continued to perform well with only a close loss to the strong Fraser HS team in pool play. A couple of games later these 2 sides contested the final with TBC this time victorious which sets them up well for the nationals which are to be held these holidays.
Rugby:
The season for our school teams finished some time ago however many of our students have been involved in representative rugby. Eight students from the 1st XV were selected in the Chiefs Under 18 Training Camp while 9 have played for the BOP Under 18s. At the Under 16 level, 9 students played in the A side while another 4 were in the Development team which was coached by Old Boy staff member & former 1st XV player, Charles Williams. 16 TBC players were selected for the Western BOP Under 14 side.
The Under 15 team made the trip to Rotorua for their tournament and struggled somewhat eventually placing 12th. At the Under 14 Colquhoun Trophy in Palmerston North the team lost its only match of the season against Rotorua BHS and finished second in the competition.
Cross Country:
The North Island Relay Championships are raced on a regional basis and we had 3 runners competing in the Waikato/BOP team. Aaron Fredheim was in the Year 9 team that came 2nd while our national champion at Junior level, Daniel Hintz, led his team to victory with the fastest time. In the Senior race, Michael Sutton, who had been second at nationals, anchored another victory.
Rock Climbing:
The national cup series in Auckland saw a small team from TBC competing. In the Under 14 competition, Levi Offner was all round winner while Wiz Fineron won the Under 18 event. Adam Steens placed 3rd in the same competition.
SnowSport:
There were 481 competitors from almost 90 schools at the North Island Secondary School Champs held at Whakapapa last week. Our slope stylers placed 4th in their competition with Daniel Tingey the best performer, coming 4th overall.
TBC Academic
Computer Programming:
TBC sent 2 teams to the IBM sponsored Regional Pacific Programming Competition which included high school as well as 87 University teams. Our lads performed exceptionally, placing as the top school team and 32nd overall which meant they beat more than half the University teams as well.
BOP Science & Technology Fair:
This annual contest saw several of our students performing well. In the Junior Science division, Devon Whitmore placed 2nd with Thomas Lamberton and Hugo Thompson 3rd equal. Finn Riordan also placed second in the Junior Technology section.
Beef & Lamb Hamburger Competiton:
After winning regional competitions in June we had 2 students competing in the national finals against winners from the other 7 regions. Competitors had an hour to produce 2 hamburgers which were judged by a panel of 4. Year 12 student Caleb Simmons placed fourth in the Senior division while Conlon Hasley in Year 10 performed very well to collect the silver medal.
TBC Arts
Barbershop:
Our boys have just returned from National finals where the competition gets stronger by the year. Our Chorus placed a creditable 8th while the Quartet went even better, just missing out on a podium finish coming 4th.
An Evening @ the Theatre:
This annual event showcases our wide range of artistic talent and will be held in the Graham Young Youth Theatre at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 25th. Featured will be the T Jazz Collective, Big Band, Barbershop & Theatre Sports amongst other things and $25 tickets are available from the school office.
Old Boys Arts
Exhibition:
Old Boy potter John Roy completed a 3 month residency at the Tylee Cottage in Whanganui last year and his new exhibition at the Masterworks Gallery in Ponsonby Road, Auckland features work from that time. Entitled “Building Walls” there is also a selection of drawings included as part of the show.
Aerosol Art:
Graham Hoete, known locally as Mr G, is off to New York to hand over his latest commission to American rapper Ice T & wife Coco – a portrait of their bulldog Spartacus. His dog painting grew out of an SPCA fundraiser where he spray painted 100 dog portraits for the charity and now is making a good name worldwide for himself in this genre……
Midnight Youth:
Jeremy Redmore has announced that he has split from the 2009 Rock Band of the year to pursue a solo career. He showcased one of his new songs at our annual dinner and there should be an album out before too long !!
Old Boys Sport
Football:
Seventeen year old Tyler Boyd has just signed up with the Wellington Phoenix . He spent his Year 9 at TBC before heading to Hamilton where he played with Declan Edge’s Waikato FC.
Marathon:
Iain Macdonald has won this year’s Legends marathon run over the Lydiard-inspired course through the Waitakeres. An interesting feature of the women’s half marathon here is that it was won by Olympic cycling gold medalist Sarah Ulmer.
Rugby:
The Steamers have just completed their home games in this year’s ITM Cup with Dan Goodwin (2) & Carl Axtens amongst the try scorers in the 31-19 victory over Northland. Other Old Boys to play this season have been Sam Cane, Lance McDonald, Nathan Harris, Luke Braid, Josh Hall & skipper Tanerau Latimer.
Sailing:
After the excitement of Olympic silver it has not taken Peter Burling long to get back to serious racing. He has been taken on as skipper of the Team Korea boat in the America’s Cup World Series event to be sailed in San Francisco, the first week of October.
Golf:
The Carrus Tauranga Open has just been completed with a healthy contingent of Old Boys in the mix. Amateur Brad Kendall began the week well taking out the 6 man $1000 shootout before the tournament and eventually took the top amateur title and outright 3rd in the tournament. Other Old Boy participants were Kieren Muir, Jared Pender, Cameron Neal & Dean Sipson.
That’s it for another term. The end of the year is looming with Seniors leaving for exams 4 weeks into the new term.
If your news is not here or you have any feedback for me, it is always great to hear from you. Thanks to those who have paid their new membership. Check www.tbcoba.org.nz for details.
All the best for now,
Rob Leslie
