November 2010 - Melville High School

HAMILTON HALF MARATHON
It seemed like a good idea at the time! The Year
12 Institute of Sport class needed an event to
focus and train towards. Running 21.1km in a
race with 1200 other people for the first time, we
saw it as a realistic goal to get fit in the seven
weeks prior to the race. Once students had
invested in a decent pair of running shoes, hitting
the pavements before and after school became a
priority.
8
In the end, four students, Sam, Gina, Robbie
and Andrew and myself, made it to the start line
on Sunday 27 September during the first week of
the Term 3 holidays. This was a great event for
the students to compete in because it tied in a lot
of the theoretical components that were covered
in class over the past year: goal setting, nutrition,
physical fitness, psychology and recovery.
Once the race started, competitive instincts kick
in. No turning back! You want to do your best.
The course started at Flagstaff, running south to
Victoria Bridge on the east side of the river, and
then running back north on the west side of the
river, back to Flagstaff.
Completing the Hamilton Half Marathon with a
group of my students was a very satisfying thing
for us to all compete in together, one of the
highlights in my journey so far as a teacher.
Crossing that finish line was such a massive
buzz for us all. Setting a big goal and achieving it
was so awesome.
Waikato’s Top Volunteer Coaches
Recognised
At a special ceremony recently held in Hamilton
by SPARC, volunteer coach awards were
presented to acknowledge and reward the
outstanding efforts of coaches who give up their
time to help make sport happen. There were
nearly 1000 nominations for these prestigious
Waikato awards There were three categories:
Student, Lifetime and General. Melville High
Teacher Aide, Valetta Wiperi won the Lifetime
Category (25 years or more service to their sport)
for her services to Netball. Valetta wins a
scholarship provided by WILSS to complete the
National Certificate in Sport (Coaching) and a
supply of Wattie’s products.
Year 12 student, Opal-Rose was a finalist
nomination for the Student Category for services
to netball.
L to R: Andrew Thorrold, Mr Edwards,
ex-MHS student Andy Webb, Robert Smith,
Samantha Jeffrey and Gina Milicich
Andrew was the first of our group to finish in a
time of 1 hour 33 minutes, a fine effort. I wasn’t
too far behind, providing me with the motivation
to train a little harder next time to be able to keep
up with him. I am proud of the effort that was put
in on the day by all the students. Our bodies
were sore for the following few days but it was all
worth it.
Several Year 9 and Year 10 students are
currently training towards the Hamilton Round
the Bridges running race. I wish them all the best
for their race on Sunday 21 November.
Mr Edwards, HOD Physical Education and
Director of Institute of Sport
Melville Rugby Sports Club
124 Collins Road, Melville
Market Day
Saturday 27 November
9.00 am-2.00 pm
We are currently wanting stall holders
and exhibitors
Outside Stall - $15.00
Stall inside clubrooms - $20.00
If you are interested in having a stall please
phone Tracey on 84602694 or 0274 385170
Congratulations to Valetta and Opal-Rose!