It has been quite some time since my last news and as you can see by the details below there has been a large amount going on around school. For those of you who are keen on Instagram Titans Sport has just launched an account. To receive updated results across a range of sports follow Titans_Sport. There is also a TBC Old Boys Facebook page (www.facebook.com/groups/tbcoba/) that I post to quite regularly, so take a look at that as well.

 

I have signposted this previously but if you have not got the date in your diary for the Dinner and Old Boys Sports Day this will be Friday September 9^th. More details will follow in due course.

 

This popular event will be held on Friday, August 19^th with the likely venue again the Bluestone Room as in previous years. Again my next update will provide the detail.

 

 

Graham Young (TBC’s longest serving Principal) was awarded the Member of the Order of New Zealand for Services to Education. Since retiring from TBC Graham has been involved with Waikato University in a range of roles including mentoring new principals. A well deserved award.

 

Joe Schmidt (DP in 2002/3) has just coached the Irish rugby team to an historic first ever rugby victory on South African soil.

 

A couple of long serving staff members have moved on in the last couple of months. Drama teacher Andrew McKenzie has moved to a Head of Department job at Kings HS in Dunedin after almost 10 years of taking the shows at TBC, while Carving Specialist Pete Smith is now HOD (Art) at Te Wharekura o Mauao at Bethlehem after 7 years with us.

 

 

TBC hosted this annual festival recently with the top school result coming down to the last event where Hamilton BHS and TBC were tied with 5 wins each and the overall victor dependent on the Senior debating event which featured the 2 schools.  Hamilton were declared the victors in what was a great artistic feast.

 

A regional debating competition has been started, sponsored by Holland Beckett. Six local schools are involved with a number of teams involved in regular competition, which will raise the standard of our local debaters.

 

Our thespians performed 4 different pieces at the local competition with one of the works qualifying directly to the national competitions in Wellington. Lachlan Crane was selected to take part in the National Youth Shakespeare training school.

 

Year 13 student Cameron Johnson is one of three recipients of the NZ Society of Authors Youth Mentorship Programme. The programme offers the young writers guidance in developing their writing skills under the mentorship of three of New Zealand’s professional authors.

 

 

TBC was awarded the top Kayaking school and top boys school at Nationals again this year. Daniel Tuiraviravi was Under 18 K1 champ while Damien and Cody Torwick were Under 18 C2 Champions. Callum Aitken was recognised as top paddler, while Damien Torwick won that award at Under 16 level.

 

TBC placed 4^th in the Northern districts qualifying competition.

 

Our sailors competed in the North Island Regionals to qualify for Nationals and were placed 5^th out of the 14 teams competing.

 

At the Waikato/BOP Championships several TBC students performed extremely well. Year 12 Ethan Holman won the Senior 100m & 200m sprints, while Lachlan Haycock was first in the 2000m steeplechase. Taylor Smith won the Senior 800m, while Maka Ahio won the Intermediate Discus. As well as these golds there were 8 other placings. Sprinter Ethan Holman has been selected to represent New Zealand in the Under 20 Junior World Athletic Championships in Poland in July, where he will be a member of the 4X100m relay team.

 

The WBOP champions saw Tristan Haycock place 1^st in the Under 19 division, while Kai Chalmers was 3^rd in the Under 17 competition.

Jack Wilson has been selected by Cycling NZ to represent New Zealand at the UCI World Championships, which will take place in the Czech Republic next month.

 

Several of our student’s achievements have been recognised with New Zealand team selection. Daniel Kilpatrick has just returned from Laos, where he competed in the U19 Asian Beach Volleyball Champs. He and Josh Dumper will travel to Myanmar in July as members of the NZ Men’s Junior Team competing in the South East Asain Championships. Kyle Hamilton will go to Florida in July as part of the New Zealand Youth team to compete in the US High Performance Champs. Callum Philpott and Shi Jie Yong have recently competed in the Asian U17 Beach Volleyball Championships held in Thailand.

 

Our boys were seeded 2^nd at Nationals  but a 5 set pool loss to Manurewa saw them against Westlake BHS in a quarter final match up which they lost in 5 sets. Westlake went on to win the title while our boys were then unbeaten and finished 5^th. The Senior B team performed creditably to make the top division and ended up 14^th in the country.

 

Guy Roberts has recently been selected in the New Zealand Under 18 Underwater Hockey team to compete against Australia at the Age Group trans-Tasman Competition in Hobart.

 

TBC dominated the annual BOP Championships held recently at Waipuna Park. Oliver Puchner won the Junior event and was part of  both the triumphant 3 and 6 man teams  and again TBC won both the 3 man and 6 man competitions. TBC also won the 3 man team event at Senior level.

 

Tristan Eiselen was the gold medal winner as overall Junior age group champion at the recently completed Bay of Plenty Swimming Championships. He won the 50m breaststroke, butterfly & freestyle events, as well as the 100m medley all with personal best times.

 

The tennis team performed strongly in the Super 8 competition, beating top seeds Hamilton BHS, but then were pipped by Palmerston North in the final. At the BOP Championships Reuben White placed 3^rd in the singles, while Jackson Currie and Scott Walpole took out the doubles title.

Caelan Potts is one of 8 players in his age group from around the world invited to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida after finishing third at the Kiwi Junior Champs held in Auckland in March.

 

Thirty teams and 150 shooters were involved in the Thames shoot with TBC winning the Single Rise and Point Score competitions. The A team won the Single Rise with 96/100 with Devin Holland (2^nd) and Hamish Williamson (6^th) our top shooters.

 

Tyzak Rhind has been selected in the New Zealand Under 15 basketball team that will compete in Los Angeles later in the year.

 

TBC now boasts 5 teams and our top side placed  6^th in Division 2 at the North Island Championships.

 

Year 10 student Anthony Ouellet continues to make a name for himself in this sport, taking out the BOP Secondary School Singles Championships.

 

The 12 team Sir Gordon Tietjens Tournament held in Palmerston North saw TBC represented in both the Under 19 and Under 15 divisions. Both sides performed very well with the Under 19s victorious and the Under 15s coming second. Flynn Kelly & Taine Craig-Ranga (Under 19) & Taratu Mankelow (Under 15) were all selected in their respective rep teams. At the North Island Championships the Seniors placed 3^rd and the Juniors 4^th.

 

The 1^st XV (under the Guidance of Old Boy Dan Goodwin in 2016) had a good win against St Paul’s Collegiate last week and will begin their Super 8 campaign in the coming weeks. Check the school website or TBC Old Boys Facebook page for details. Old Boy & Staff member Charles Williams is Coach of the 2^nd XV this year.

 

The 1^st XI Hockey team is back playing in the local Men’s competition this year and had their first loss last week, but are looking good after a great 3-0 win against King’s College in their first interschool of the season – former Blackstick Steve Graham is coach.

 

Football  have begun their qualification matches for Nationals again and remain unbeaten after 5 matches.

 

 

In a first for our school a group of 12 Senior students and 3 staff went to Fiji in the last holidays after fundraising $3,500 each for the trip. The mission was to help fund and provide the labour to build an accommodation block for the Yamacia Rugby Club in Fiji, which was devastated by Cyclone Winston when it struck in February this year. The club provides opportunities to disadvantaged players from around the islands and the experience was a special one for all involved.

 

 

Next month Phil Adams and I will take a combined History/Geography group of 20 Year 12 & 13 boys on a 13 day tour of Vietnam. We fly via Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), fly to Hue and stay at Hoi An and Hue before flying on to Hanoi where our visit will include an overnight cruise to Halong Bay. An exciting itinerary exploring the fascinating history and geography of this exotic location.

 

Last year a group of our Maori students and staff toured Greece and Italy following in the footsteps of the Pioneer Maori Battalion in World War 1 and the 28^th Maori Battalion in World War 2.  It is proposed that a similar tour will be held for another group of boys in 2 years time – a life changing opportunity for a number of our young men.

 

 

TBC Old Boys competing in the sailing at the Rio Olympics will now number 3, with the recent addition of Sam Meech who will compete in the Laser class.  His selection came as a result of excellent form in the European racing season where he won silver at the World Cup in Hyeres in April.

 

James Kilpatrick has been crowned 2016 World Tree Climbing Champion at the International Championships. Representing the Asia-Pacific region James beat off competition from 64 professionals from 18 different countries.

 

The first All Black squad for 2016 has been selected and it includes two Old Boys.  Sam Kane is retained and after a tough battle back from injury Nathan Harris returns for the series against Wales. Te Aihe Toma has been picked up by the Highlanders midway through the season.

Youngest of the sporty Oakley boys Jamie looks to be following in mother Susan Devoy's footsteps as he has just won the AON 2016 New Zealand Junior squash title.

 

TBC Gappie (from Cranbrook in Kent in 2010/11)  Ruaridh McConnochie  has been a regular feature in the England 7s team on the international circuit this season. He has been shortlisted as the 2016 HSBC England 7s Player of the Year and also picked in the wider training squad for the Great Britain team for the Rio Olympics.

 

Old Boy Robbie Shorter  and driver Colin Buckley are headed back to the Isle of Man for the TT races with their sidecar after last year’s first effort . The world renowned races have claimed 248 lives since they began in 1911 and so it is no place for the faint hearted!

Two Old Boys were honoured at the recent Mediaworks radio awards, where Lloyd Burr gained “Best Journalist” and “Best Team Coverage of a Story”  in the News category.  Grant Lee was recognised for “Outstanding Contribution to Radio”.

 

1984 Head Prefect Erik Thomson calls Australia home these days, but has spent more time in New Zealand recently filming the Drama “800 Words”. His acting in the series has seen him pick up his second Australian Silver Logie for Best Actor in 2016.

 

The Tauranga Musical Theatre is looking to perform the show Mama Mia in September. Recent casting shows three of our Old Boys with leading roles – Brendan Weatherley, Craig Barr-Smith and Cameron Buchanan will all feature in the show.

 

As per usual if there is news that you would think others would be keen to know please pass it on to me.

 

Kind regards to all,

 

Rob Leslie.