Selwyn_Times: February 07, 2024

SELWYN RURAL LIFE
farming
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Feature
Wednesday February 7 2024 Selwyn Times
SPORT 23
maramataka practices. Here are just a
couple of the findings.
Taranaki organic dairy farmer Nick
Collins: “With hay, we found it cures
better on the new moon, or after the full
moon, because there are lower moisture
levels in the pasture. Leading up to the
full moon is the active phase, which
was a good time for sileage because we
weren’t worried about drying the plant.
But the hay seemed to dry better when
the plant has lower moisture levels, and
that’s [during] a waning moon.”
Bay of Plenty farmer Mohi Beckham
employs contractors for riparian
planting. “My contractors only work in
the high-energy days of the lunar cycle,
which is anywhere between 12 and
20 days compared to five days a week
for conventional planting contractors.
But the productivity is higher in the
maramataka boys. A lot of our stuff has
been under water this year, and there’s
a 93 per cent survival rate for their
plantings. Usually, you are lucky when
the survival rate is 80 per cent.”
To explore this topic further, seek out
materials that explain the approach and
its applications, and use a phone app
to keep you on track with where the
moon is at. Deep observation of your
own land and practices is crucial – you
may notice patterns and gain a new
perspective on why they occur.
HARD-HITTER: Tobias Delahunty plays an aggressive shot during his
century against Camberwell Grammar. PHOTO: BILLY BRICE ​
College’s cricket
tour a success
• By Sam Coughlan
ROLLESTON COLLEGE are celebrating
the success of the school’s first ever
international sporting tour.
A development cricket team travelled to
Melbourne last month for three matches
against local schools and clubs, and partook
in some elite coaching sessions.
Rolleston’s sports co-ordinator Carolyn
Corbett accompanied the team, and said
the boys “had a ball”.
“They all said that they have improved
their skills, they’re excited to come back
for the season, and most importantly, they
actually had fun representing their school.
“All of those three things were what we
wanted to get out of it.”
The players were from years 9 to 13.
Corbett said planning had begun 14 or
15 months prior, and extensive fundraising
had been held.
“We actually ran a huge event here at
school, a race night, and we raised probably
close to $18,000, $19,000, which was
awesome.
“And then they did a few little fundraisers
here and there in between times but
we really pushed on making one really
successful fundraiser.”
When they got to Melbourne the team
played local schools Mentone Grammar
and Camberwell Grammar either side of
a trip out to Bendigo, a two-hour drive
from the city, to face Maiden Gully Marist
Cricket Club in what would be their only
win of the tour.
Year 13 pupil Tobias Delahunty, who
captained the side and is a member of the
school’s 1st XI, scored a century in their
final game against Camberwell.
He said the tour was a “pretty awesome”
opportunity and the team got a lot out of
it.
“Playing on different conditions over
there, the pitches were a lot different to
what they are here.”
He said the coaching provided different
perspectives too.
“It was just a pretty sick experience.”
His personal highlight was scoring a
century, but the team bonding was important
too.
“Everyone got along – a bit of banter as
well, so nice team cohesion there,” he said.
Corbett said discussions had been had
with Maiden Gully Marist about Rolleston
potentially hosting a team in the future.
“They were very keen to bring a team
out to New Zealand and obviously we
would host them, if they came out.”
Rolleston College are aiming to make
overseas sporting ventures happen more
frequently.
“We hope to make this a sort of
every two-year project for the cricket programme,”
said Corbett.
“And now that we’ve got our first
international tour done we’re looking at
the 2025 Gold Coast Games, which is a
variety of sports, not necessarily for high
performance, but about actually giving
kids opportunities for development and
some different experiences.”
Canterbury Country Premier T20
Results: Oxbrook 151/7 (20 overs) beat Ohoka 106/5 (17.4 overs) by
46 runs
Lincoln 141/7 (20) beat Weedons 128/8 (20) by 13 runs
Sefton 89/0 (10) beat Cheviot 88 all out (18.4) by 10 wickets
Leeston-Southbridge 100/5 (15) beat Darfield 99 (20) by 5 wickets
Points Table
Sefton 24; Weedons 16; Ohoka 12; Darfield 12; Leeston-
Southbridge 8; Lincoln 8; Oxbrook 8; Cheviot 4; Peninsula-Harbour 4