St Nicholas Netball Club
www.sporty.co.nz/stnicholasnetball
St Nicholas Netball Club has been preparing for a busy 2018 season. Over the last couple of months we have been appointing coaches and managers, holding trials, focusing on team selection and getting training sessions underway.
Our Premier teams begin playing on Tuesday 24 April, senior team on Saturday 28 April and 2nd, 3rd grade, U19, U17 and other junior teams begin on Saturday 5 May. We have maintained a similar number of club teams for 2018 as we have had in previous years. Our club day was held on Sunday 8 April which is an opportunity for players to meet, pay subs, purchase a uniform etc. We anticipate that those who did not attend will have their uniforms already sorted and have paid subs on-line with the deadline of 4 May pending.
We would like to acknowledge our sponsor SportsMed Podiatry. They offer great foot and lower limb care (e.g. from ankle braces, pre-game taping, orthotics and footwear advice) and we are pleased to have the opportunity to work with Greg and the team again this season. Thanks to Greg for being available on club day, please feel free to contact them 156 Bealey Ave, ph. 3660-620.
There are some new faces on the committee and we are very grateful that committee members volunteer their time to work towards building and developing the St Nicholas Netball Club. We are always happy to hear from anyone else who may want to join the committee or be co-opted to look after particular areas such as fundraising or prize-giving. We acknowledge and thank our immediate past president - Leigh Hurford who has made a significant contrition to the club over a long period of time. I know we will still see Leigh around during the season.
We very much appreciate the willingness of those who help out with coaching and managing teams and involve themselves in the club and assist with player and team development. A massive thanks to those who have been working in this areas and we look forward to seeing the progression throughout the season. Welcome back to those players, coaches and managers who are returning to the club, it will be great to catch up during the course of the season.
We have an active group of “golden oldies” (members who played for the club in its early years - from 1950’s) and recently another member of that group celebrated her 80th birthday. From time to time they get together for lunch or celebrations and I am sure we will see some of them around the courts this season.
We are looking forward to another season where we are part of the Elmwood Club and thank Erin for working with us.
HSOB AFC
The winter season 2018 for football is underway with posts put up over Easter weekend. I would like to thank those volunteers that are happy to help out, without you we wouldn’t have a club, your efforts are much appreciated.
Grounds are in great condition for the start of the season and all teams appear to be well allocated across the grades at this early stage and are rearing to get going.
A reminder that The Elmwood Club is a great facility for the club either after a game or for booking the facilities for other events please keep this in mind. If you are keen to join a football team then get in touch we are always happy to see if we can help out.
Elmwood Park Bowling Club
As the final phase of the season unwound, the club had a mixture of very pleasing results and bad luck but the performance of Lois Grey, Mary Ann Johnstone and Joyce McKinnel in reaching the finals weekend in the champion of Champions women's triples stands out as a highlight. They played some fine bowls in easily defeating Sumner and then ousting the very strong Allenton team skipped by nationally ranked Sandra Keith.
Jonathon Flint's fours team of BJ Lyttle, Allan Reid and Brian Smith also had some notable results in the men's Champion of Champions pool rounds, starting with a very good win over Belfast (skipped by former Elmwood member Mark Schrader) and then a comfortable win over Fendalton. However, after leading for most of the match against Canterbury, they fell to the very last bowl in near darkness to miss out on reaching then finals weekend.
From the president:
As the season draws to a close, we can reflect on another good year on the greens. Our womens (division 2) 8’s and mens (division 3) 8’s both won their competitions and a number of teams have reached the final stages of Champion of Champion events next weekend. Congratulations to those involved and also congratulations to Sherrie Cottle who was a member of the successful womens inter centre team and to Steve Ditfort and Matt Bassett who were selected for the Canterbury Mens senior and under 8’s inter-centre teams respectively.
Finally I would like to thank all those who have contributed in such a positive manner towards the smooth running of our club during the season. The club could not function without your assistance.
All the best for the winter months.
OBC Cricket Club (junior + senior)
OBC had a very successful season all round in the junior section. 450 players registered with 50 teams from ‘Have A Go’ to Year 8 including 3 junior girls teams. The club provided all teams with club coaches who ran the weekly coaching sessions with 80 volunteer managers with our teams on Saturday mornings.
This season OBC introduced our own Kiwi Competition run at Elmwood Park on a Saturday morning with both training and games. OBC had a total of 6 teams all named after past and present OBC representatives. This was highly successful and something the club looks to build on in the seasons to come.
OBC ran a number of Cricket Holiday programmes. These being pre-season, Christmas and New Year that are always well received with over 200 children in attendance.
Over the season OBC continued to build on our relationships with our local schools. Helping them develop cricket in the school, raising awareness and creating a link to play club cricket.
OBC senior
The 2017/18 season is done and dusted for OBC cricket. While we didn't necessarily reach the highs of last year on the field, we continue to track in the right direction. A highlight was the Premier Men, Premier Women, 2A and 2B mens teams all making various finals. This, along with success at the back of the 2016/17 season ensured we were nominated, and were eventual winners of Club of the Year at the Nexia NZ Canterbury Sports Awards. The award recognizes the success we had on the paddock along with the hard yards that the committee and club members have put in to ensure that OBC is a progressive club striving for excellence. Although the playing season has finished, the committee will start ramping up their efforts to ensure we keep up momentum in 2018 and beyond.
Lincoln University Sport
Rugby:
Round 1 of the Hawkins CRFU Metro Premier and Premier Reserve competition kicked off on the 7th of April with LU hosting Belfast.
The Wethers commenced proceedings with the 1pm match against a tenacious Div 2 Belfast team. The side quickly worked out some strong player combinations and were able to continually build up the points. The 59-7 victory signaled the attacking power that this team will be looking to bring throughout the season.
The club would like to extend a warm welcome to all parents and supporters especially those of this weekend's graduates back to the Elmwood Bowling Club at the conclusion of the Premier match from 5pm onwards.
Womens rugby:
Lincoln University Women's rugby have an emphatic start to their season
The scene was set for some fast, expansive, running rugby on the billiard table surface that was LU 1 as Lincoln played host to the red and white of Burnside. The visitors had a physical forward pack but the speed and ball skills of the Lincoln ladies somewhat nullified Burnside's ability to utilise their power with the end result being a win by a considerable amount to Lincoln University.
Basketball
UTSNZ, Basketball New Zealand and Canterbury Basketball hosted another fantastic 3x3 tournament on Sunday 8 April 2018 at Cowles Stadium
Both Lincoln University Men's and Women's sides were eager to repeat their 2017 performances at the annual University Championships. Some good results were achieved from the men in pool play over Massey ( 18-7), AUT (21-7), Auckland (17-12) and Victoria (15-14). Unfortunately in the later part of pool play the boys went down to Otago, Waikato and Canterbury to finish as fifth seed for the quarterfinals.
Elmwood Croquet Club
Elmwood Croquet club has had a busy season. Both codes have participated in inter club competitions with enthusiasm with moderate results However we do enjoy contact with other clubs. We have a had monthly get together with St James and Edgeware Croquet clubs so that with our small number of AC players in Canterbury we have a chance to play with other people. This year we lost Gary Annakin who has moved to Fielding to be closer to Family. We will miss his coaching skills and his knowledge of lawns and his general handiman skills. He will be difficult to replace. He is however not lost to croquet as Fielding has a croquet club.
We are now looking forward to playing Indoor Croquet on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Playing on a small mat inside is a great way to hone techniques and maintain social contact.
Canterbury Quakes Handball Club
Beach handball has had an extremely successful 2017-18 summer season. Our usually strong mixed social league on Monday Nights boasted 10 team's this year with over 70 regulars each week! Big thanks to the bar staff for staying open and quenching our thirst after a game on the sand! We also had the BBQ cranked most weeks which the proceeds will go towards funding some new gear.
We also held a weekend tournament in December which had a player from the Australian National squad attend. This made it New Zealand's first international Beach Handball event.
To cap off the season our more serious players formed a mixed team and headed to Adelaide to attend the Australian National Beach Handball championships at the end of February. The team had an absolute blast and managed to place sixth out of eleven. There was definitely a promising result and even had a good win against the team who came 4th showing the potential to place even higher in the coming years.
That's all from the beach side of things this year as we crank into the indoor season this year with focus being on our new regional challenge shield against Otago and attending national tournaments in Queenstown Auckland and Wellington.
If you would like more information or join us feel free to contact the club at the email address below.
Shirley Volleyball Club
Shirley volleyball has had a very successful last 3 seasons with top 3 finishes at Club Nationals and consecutive Southern Zone wins. Plans for this year are no different with the goal always being a gold at Club Nationals. Recent club trials have seen record numbers wanting to represent and play for Shirley Volleyball Club. Both A, B and development sides are looking to be stronger than ever with almost every player from the 2017 silver medal side returning for 2018. The loyalty and
This season is going to be very exciting and we look forward to the challenges that lie ahead. SVC is excited and ready for the season ahead. The women’s team is looking to defend their southern zone title and get another chance at fighting for gold medal at nationals. There are some exciting new players joining the club on both men and women’s sides. The women have two senior teams and four development teams all looking to be very competitive. The men’s side have two senior teams with the A team looking to battle it out with Pioneer VC to be number one in Christchurch. The loyalty and culture within the club is second to none and something that everyone wants to be a part of. This season is going to be very exciting and we look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.
HSOB/Burnside Hockey
We have started our season with teams in the CPL men and women’s grade and Div 1 and 2 Woman and three Div 3 teams. On the mens side we also have a Div 1 and 3 side.
We have approx 35 junior teams this season. We look forward to a great season of Hockey