Term 1 Auckland Ultimate Secondary School Outdoor League 2014
North/West Division
Schools Ultimate in Auckland has been in hot demand, so much so that it had to be split across two different venues to accommodate the interest. The North/West league was hosted at Hato Petera College and attracted 17 teams across both divisions. The boys division was made up of a mixture of experienced players through to entirely new players. The girls division had a variety of experience and skill level. Throughout the weeks, it was inspiring to watch the determination and dedication of all players, no matter their skill or experience. The skill levels of players visibly improved from week to week and kept the competition, for both divisions, tight.
The boys division finals found Westlake Boys College 1 meet Avondale College. With Westlake Boys 1 dominating the league and Avondale scraping through the middle, it was thought to be an easy win for Westlake. Avondale fought hard against Westlake, and showed determination. Westlake Boys came through with the win after a show of the immense skill throughout the players. Avondale College played very well against one of the top schools in New Zealand.
The girls final between Avondale College and Northcote College was a repeat of history. The past two years have seen these two schools in very intense, close finals. This match up was unexpected as Northcote beat Takapuna Grammar 1, the top team, in the semi-finals. This final was close but Avondale maintained the lead throughout the game and came through with the victory. It was a great game, show casing the great skills and spirit the girls have learnt throughout the league.
Final standings and winners:
Womens
1 – Avondale College
2 – Northcote College
3 – Takapuna Grammer 1
4 – Greenbay College
5 – Takapuna Grammer 2
Open
1. Westlake boys 1
2. Avondale
3. Greenbay 2
4. Greenbay 1
5. Westlake 2
6. Northcote 2
7. Westlake 4
8. Westlake 6
9. Westlake 3
10. Northcote 1
11. Takapuna Grammar
12. Westlake 5
MVP Boys – Kinzo – Avondale College
Spirit Boys – Northcote College
Winners – Westlake Boys College 1
MVP Girls – Miranda Rainey – Northcote College
Spirit Girls – Green Bay
Winners – Avondale College
League report by Julia Forde
Schools League – East/Central Division
The new Eastern/Central league was hosted at Selwyn College and attracted 10 teams across both divisions. The boys division was entirely new, and the girls division had Selwyn College and Auckland Girls Grammar turn up for their first leagues. All the games across both divisions were played under challenging conditions due to either high temperatures or high winds, but team performed extremely well and displayed huge amounts of skill to produce hotly contested games.
The boys division finals found Edgewater College meet Ormiston College in what promised to be an extemely intense game. Teams traded evenly to 4-4, before Ormiston College finally found a way to shut down the long game generated by League MVP Ropati of Edgewater, and pulled away to close out the game 10-4.
The girls final between Epsom Girls Grammar School and Baradene College 2 was also a fight from the start. While Epsom managed to open the game with 2 breaks, Baradene managed to stay with Epsom until the second half where Epsom also pulled away to close out 6-3, leaving them with only a single loss in the first game of the season.
Final standings and winners:
Womens
1 – Epsom Girls Grammar School
2 – Baradene College 2
3 – Baradene College 3
4 – Auckland Girls Grammar School
5 – Baradene College 1
6 – Selwyn College
Open
1 – Ormiston College
2 – Edgewater College
3 – Alfriston College
4 – Selwyn College
MVP Boys – Ropati – Edgewater College
Spirit Boys – Edgewater College
Winners – Ormiston College
MVP Girls – Raven – Epsom Girls Grammar School
Spirit Girls – Baradene 1
Winners – Epsom Girls Grammar School
League report by Ethan Taylor