BOYS sprint at Waitomo InterSchool athletics.
UMBRELLAS were out, but the Waitomo interschool athletics day went ahead as planned. Severe weather warnings had been called across the North Island, but without a possible alternative date, the kids knew they would compete rain or shine. The weather was a challenge. Light rain in the morning had little impact on the 400m and longer running events but after that, things got challenging. The long jump was cancelled during the junior girls event because the sand compacted and students started slipping on the run-up. Health and saftety concerns lead to organisers calling off the remainder of the jumps. The high jump contestants kept going after a location change midway through. “We had to move the high jump into the gymnasium. This however created a wonderful supportive environment for the athletes who were competing [because] the students who weren’t involved in an event were able to watch in a dry space” said Piopio College head of sports faculty, Gina Draper. Gina felt priveleged to have been involved, and pleased that the college’s facilities were put to good use. “We have excellent large grounds that are always in great condition and it was nice for them to be utilised to their full capacity.” She said the event ran smoothly overall, and that she was grateful to all involved. “We managed to get through everything on the day and [on] time. This was due to the efficiency of the staff on each event. I thank them for their efforts and ability to go with the flow. We had all seasons in one day but this did not dampen the day and some outstanding results were achieved. The races I was a part of were tightly contested, and [it] was pleasing to witness once again the high level of skill we have within Waitomo.” Students made light of conditions – a few boys used the wet plastic underneath one of the school marquees as an improvised slip and slide in between events. Results will be released later this week.
