Read the latest news from our Lawn Bowlers, the Junior Triangular Sports Exchange, Wellington U16 Rugby Trialists and the latest from our Adventure Racers.
- Bowls Wellington Regional 5-a-Side Finals (April)
Congratulations to the ‘Northern’ Team, made up of three Onslow students, William Goldstein (Y12), Klyde Hermo (Y12) and Isaac Shannon (Y12), along with the two Aotea students won the Triples section and the Overall trophy! Congratulations! A great result for our lawn bowlers.
- Junior Triangular Sports Exchange – Onslow/Tawa/Newlands Colleges
Although Onslow didn’t win enough games to come top of the table, we did come a respectable third overall! Jokes aside, everyone had a good time and enjoyed playing our local college ‘rivals’. We had some satisfying wins against both Newlands and Tawa. They were:
– Both Netball teams beat Tawa.
– Our Hockey team beat Newlands
– Boys Basketball beat Newlands
- U16 Wellington Rugby Trialists from Onslow College
Congratulations to Grayson Gill (Y10) and Davaunte Evans (Y12) who have been invited to trial for the WRFU U16 Representative team for 2026.
- OC Adventure Racing – Hillary Challenge North Island Qualifiers – Sunday 17 May 2026 (Thanks Julie Kane for the write-up)
The Hillary Challenge North Island qualifier is a 6-hour navigation-based outdoor team challenge on both foot and mountain bike. Teams of eight Y11-Y13 students represent their school(s). Details of the course are not released until the race briefing, half an hour before the event begins. There is generally a rogaine element to the event to ensure all teams finish at approximately the same time, with a mix of optional and compulsory checkpoints. Points are scored for checkpoints visited and each team’s objective is to build the biggest score they can within the 6 hours.
The Onslow College/Hutt Valley High School team for 2026 comprised eight senior students: Zara Davey (captain, Y13), Cameron Johns (HVHS, Y12), Liko Heise (Y12), Annelise Quigley (Y12), Felix Haworth (Y11), Oliver Bowman-Bloor (Y11), Isla Weir (Y11) and Juliet Boys (Y11). Also representing, in a joint Wellington Girls College/Onslow College team, was Elise Collins. These students were among the 31 teams from secondary schools all over the North Island, many of whom were vying for five available spots in the week-long Hillary Challenge National Final to be held later this year.
Boyes Beach at Lake Okareka (near Rotorua) was where it began on Sunday 17 May 2026 at 9am. This year’s qualifier had three stages to cover during the 6-hour event:
- A problem-solving challenge – similar to Einstein’s Riddle/Zebra Puzzle (to “earn” the course maps).
- Rogaine on foot – approximately 20km looping around both Lake Okareka and the Blue Lake (20 checkpoints worth 1,440 points).
- Rogaine on mountain-bike – approximately 25km amongst the giant redwood trees behind Blue Lake (29 checkpoints worth 1,580 points).
Great teamwork and problem-solving skills got the Onslow College/Hutt Valley High School team crew off to a fantastic start – they were the fourth team to collect their course maps. Making the most of relatively straightforward navigation, the team then went on to clear the course on the foot rogaine stage. Then things ramped up for the mountain-biking stage. The navigation aspect of the mountain-bike stage became more challenging, but Cameron and Isla led the team through this with ease. Similarly, the team’s bike mechanic skills saw them through a few dropped chains whilst amongst the trees on the hills. Strategically conscious of the steep penalties for finishing after 3pm (30 points deducted for every minute late), the team gave themselves a clear margin to make sure they crossed the finish line before the 6-hour timer was up.
As always, the competition was fierce. This year, two teams even managed to clear the entire course. When the final points were tallied, Onslow College/Hutt Valley High School placed in the top 10 mixed open teams. But, despite their strong performance, it was not quite enough to qualify for the Hillary Challenge National Final. As an all-girls team, Elise and her Wellington Girls College/Onslow College team were not competing for a place at Finals.
We are very proud of these Onslow College and Hutt Valley High School athletes who took part in the qualifier event, particularly their passion for the outdoors, and the way they worked together throughout the day. Congratulations too to the teams from New Plymouth Girls/Boys High Schools, Rotorua Lakes High School (Tikitapu Taniwha), Westlake Girls/Boys High Schools, John Paul College and Whangamata Area School who now go on to compete at Tongariro in October 2026.
Thanks once again for the write up Julie! (Julie Kane, OC Adventure Racing Parent Committee)