Hi everyone,
A shortened Term 1 for 2015 is rapidly coming to a close so I am a little overdue with my first edition for the New Year.
One of the major events of the early part of every year is the publishing of scholarship results and as has been the norm for a long period of time TBC has led the way in The Bay. The total number of scholarships for 2014 was 32, achieved across 12 subjects with the 2015 academic captain James Thwaite performing outstandingly with 4 scholarships.
This week we have a large number of students out with Summer Tournament Week, so the opportunity for a number of you scattered around the country to support our athletes in a wide range of sports.
NZSS Volleyball championships are in Palmerston North
NZSS Tennis nationals are in Wellington
1st XI Cricket are in Hamilton playing qualifying matches for the Gillette Cup
NZCT Cricket – Yr 10 team are in Palmerston North with the other top 5 teams
NZSS Rowing Maadi Regatta at Karapiro
NZSS Waka Ama in Rotorua
North Island SS softball tournament in Palmerston North
In addition to these events through the week this coming weekend there are:
North Island Athletic championships in Auckland
NZSS White Water Kayaking at Kawerau
NZSS Water Polo Championships in Auckland
NZSS Touch Rugby in Rotorua
Staffing
The Tauranga Boys’ College staff continues to be dominated by Old Boys from the school, with more than 20 still on the staff. There have been a couple of personnel changes since last year with Nathan Fry leaving to take up the position of Head of English at Rotorua BHS. Josh Probert did some of his teacher training here last year and has now joined the staff as a member of the Science Department.
Where are they now?
I’ve decided to begin an occasional feature as part of my news updates to highlight what has become of some of our Old Boys.
Stephen Scahill was an exceptional golfer at school in the mid-1980s and from there went on to win the Eisenhower Trophy (symbol of amateur golfing supremacy) with Michael Campbell, Grant Moorehead and Philip Tataurangi in Canada in 1992. From there he turned professional and played mostly on the European Tour until 2008, at one stage ranking in the mid-60s there.
After golf Stephen based himself in Sydney and began working in sales for the global company NCH Corporation, which manufactures and sells lubricants, chemicals and maintenance consumables. He now runs the operation in Sydney.
Naresh Peripanayagam (1993-6) headed to Victoria to study law but has been Geneva-based for a number of years and works for the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights. He has also worked in Nepal and Pakistan in this capacity.
TBC Sport
Mountain Biking
A 22 strong team has just competed in the national championships at Hunua and were crowned national champions. Results from several disciplines counted towards the final result and best performers were Ben Burnett (3rd U 14 downhill), Jack Tortishell (3rd U 14 cross country), Lachie Haycock ( national champion in U 16 cross country), Kaleb Hyndman (3rd U 16 cross country) and Jack Wilson (national Champion U 17 cross country).
Previously Harrison Mudgway had won the New Zealand Under 19 Mountain Bike Cross-country title in Rotorua.
Athletics
The Waikato/BOP SS Athletic Championships have been held in Tauranga with considerable success for our athletes. Daniel Hintz was the star winning the Senior boys 800m/1500m double and in doing so took the John Walker shoes trophy – the shoes with which he set the world record of a sub 3.50 minute mile. Johnny O’Donnell took out the 100m/200m senior boys double while Ethan Holman did the same in the intermediate division. Dylan Sperling and Thomas Rawstron took out the minor placings in the senior boys 100m & combined with O’Donnell and Holman to win the 4x100m relay.
Kayaking
The North Island SS Canoe Slalom event has seen TBC paddlers dominate with a host of excellent results. Dan Munro won the U18 C1 and teamed with Luke Robinson to take out the C2. Levi Offner won the U 16 C1 while Daniel Tuiraviravi won the U 18 K1. James Thwaite, who is our Academic Captain and got 4 scholarship passes in Year 12, has just been selected to represent New Zealand at the ICF Junior and U 23 World Championships in Brazil and then Europe.
Surf Lifesaving
A small number of our students competed in the Nationals . Dylan Williams, Daniel Barron & Kane Sefton have all been selected in the New Zealand Development Squad.
Super 8 Contests
Volleyball claimed the title again this year with a semi final victory over Hamilton BHS, which was followed up by the defeat of New Plymouth BHS in the final.
Cricket was played in Tauranga this year with all matches either at TBC or Fergusson Park. A young TBC team won their first 2 matches but then lost the next 2 to place 4th in the competition.
Tennis was a tough contest, with the top 3 teams looking to qualify for nationals in Wellington. TBC beat Napier on a count-back to set up a semifinal against eventual winners Palmerston North BHS. The crucial play-off for 3rd saw TBC prevail 4-2 against Hamilton BHS.
The 2015 Golf Super 8 competition was held at the St. Andrew’s course in Hamilton and the TBC team of Kingsley Wright, Wyatt Amerson, Sam Bodnar and Byron Willis won the event by 9 strokes.
TBC Arts
X Factor
Year 12 student Elijah Taula and sister Leilani have enjoyed considerable exposure on this TV show making it to the show’s “bootcamp” before being eliminated. The experience was an enjoyable one and they also learned a large amount.
School Production
The school production in 2015 is Monty Python’s Spamalot which is a comedic musical - a parody of the 1974 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. TBC have responsibility for the show this year, which will play in the Graham Young Youth Theatre from June 23rd to 27th. There will be an Old Boys night for this so look out for further details.
Jazz Festival
Easter is the time to enjoy the annual quality jazz festival and we will have the Big Band and 2 jazz combos performing on the 3rd and 4th of April.
Debating
The TBC team that participated in the annual competition of the Waikato/BOP/Thames Valley regions performed creditably winning 3 of their 4 debates and losing closely in the semi-final to Hamilton BHS who were eventual winners. Our team captain Hugo Thompson was selected to represent the region in the 3 person team that will contest nationals in Wellington in April.
Old Boys Academic
Waikato University undergraduate Ryan Smith has just spent his summer holidays as an intern at a tech start-up company (Wave Semiconductor) in Campbell, Silicon Valley, designing a more efficient computer chip. In Year 13 Ryan won a $5000 scholarship for Waikato, which also allowed him to skip the first year of Computer Science. He should complete his honours degree this year and is contemplating continuing with his studies and completing a Ph.D.
Old Boys Adventure
Twins Josh and Zac Lyon www.4caps.kiwi have returned safely from their first major expedition, which, when completed, will see them having crossed both polar ice caps on foot, the Patagonian Southern ice cap and the Greenland ice cap as well. Their Greenland leg was completed when they covered 600 km. in 27 days, climbing 2,500 metres in temperatures which at times plummeted to -30 degrees celsius. They hope to complete their quest by the summer of 2016/17, so check out their website for progress details.
Old Boys Sport
Cricket
The lead up to the ICC World Cup has seen a significant programme of international cricket for our players. Kane Williamson took over from returning captain in the 3-2 ODI victory against the Pakistanis in the UAE, and since the return of the Black Caps the side has won the 1st test against the touring Sri Lankans. Kane scored nearly 1,000 runs in the 2014 calendar year at an average of over 50 and looks set to become one of the all-time best NZ cricketers.
Rugby
Daniel Braid, who left NZ in 2012 to take up a short term contract in the UK with Sale has cemented his future with the club, with the 34 year old signing an extended contract. The former All Black has captained the Sharks and it would appear he will look to move into a coaching role when his playing days are over.
Rugby 7s
2014 1st XV member Josh Honey has taken a year out from his education to undertake a Gap Year at Cranbrook School in Kent, England. This was the school I taught at in 2010 and from where all of our Gappies have come since then. Josh had visa issues, which meant his departure was delayed and as a consequence he was able to trial for the BOP 7s side which he duly played for at Nationals.
Sailing
A tumultuous last few weeks has seen Peter Burling announced as one of two helmsmen for the Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup challenge. The sailing superstar has had the winning of The Cup as a goal from school days and is now in a position to achieve this with the departure of incumbent Dean Barker.
Football
All White international Tyler Boyd, who was signed to a professional contract with the Wellington Phoenix as a 17 year old in 2012-13, has agreed to a 4 year contract with Portuguese first division club Vitoria SC at the end of this A league season.
Rugby League
Old Boy Bodene Thompson has returned to New Zealand after beginning his NRL career in 2009 with the Gold Coast Titans. He has signed a 3 year contract with the Warriors and is now the veteran of more than 80 NRL matches with the Titans and subsequently the West Tigers in 2013-14.
Athletics
After breaking the magical 4 minute mile barrier last year Julian Oakley, who is on an athletics scholarship in the USA, has further reduced his personal best time to 3 minutes 57.22 seconds and in so doing so has posted the best time of any college athlete for the year.
Rowing
Our 2 NZ squad representatives were both amongst the medals at the recently completed 2015 National Championships. Mahe Drysdale was crowned Mens Premier Single Sculls Champion and picked up a bronze medal as part of a premier coxed 4 crew. Alan Ling was Mens Premier Lightweight Single Sculls Champion and secured another gold medal as a member of the winning premier coxed 8.
Your Committee has had its first meeting of the year and I will outline the major events for the year in my next edition, which should be within the next month. This will review the performances of our athletes at summer sports tournaments around the country.
In the meantime, if you have news that would be interesting to fellow Old Boys or any requests of me please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Rob Leslie.
