Nau mai haere mai,
Welcome to the St Thomas' Sports hub.
Our kura has worked hard over many years to build participation numbers in a range of sports. We have a hugely committed staff that work to grow the hearts and minds of our boys outside of the classroom as much as they invest in the classroom. Sport is very much at the forefront in the positive outcomes of our students. Here is a little about some of our sports programmes.
We now have a rugby programme that competes at all year levels with multiple teams in each age grade. Our 1st XV is now seen as a leading team within the South Islands pinnacle secondary schools’ tournament – the Miles Toyota premiership and soon to be SIBS comp. We also have a 2nd XV in the championship competition which has performed well over a number of seasons. We are proud of our award for school of the year award with Canterbury rugby. What is unique is our relationship with rugby league. We understand the benefits of boys playing both codes to grow skill sets. Rugby League also continues to grow within the college. Our rugby leauge team is back to back national secondary school champions 23/24. We have growth in this sport each year and are now witnessing many of our students in the NRL pathways competions and beyond.
Our Basketball teams are lucky enough to have access to an amazing gymnasium to build their skills in. Our top team was the Canterbury champions for 2023 and semi finalists the last two years. We are continuing to evolve our coaching and development of this sport with its increased popularity in our college. Football is consistently in the top 4 of the connectics cup and we are excited about continuing to build our relationship with CFA to benefit our boys. Top quality coaching and facilities will enable the further growth of football in our community. In 2024 we lost the national semi final in a penalty shoot out and the team was crowned Canterbury champions. In 2025 they were the top team in the regular season!
Cricket playing numbers are on the up with a great group about to come through at year 9. New grass practice blocks, new cricket pitches, a new electronic scoreboard, and investment in gear and quality coaching has allowed our students to experience some of the best facilities in the city. Our 1st 11 plays in the premier competion and has made semi finals for the last two seasons. We have projected further growth in this sport from 2025 and beyond with some top-quality coaches involved in our programme.
Rowing has a proud history at Kura. Further investment in new rowing boats and a new head rowing coach will allow our rowing team the chance to compete nationally at the annual Maadi cup. We had an exceptional year in 2025 with our first ever spot in the 8 final along with five 'A' finals. We look forward to more national success in this space in 2026 with a great group of boys and their families. Touch and volleyball are two emerging sports in the college, and we also had our first combined hockey team. If your son wishes to play these please let the sports dept know! We offer almost all sports at the college and where there is a will there is a way in giving our young men the chance to participate and have a strong and healthy Hauora in whichever sport, they wish to participate in. As you will see we want our students to have the opportunity to play for fun or to aspire to compete in the top competitions in the city. We want our young men to work hard and work for each other to have quality experiences in sport!
We look forward to watching your son thrive in the many sporting opportunities we offer.
Nga mihi
Mr Paul Burton
Assistant Principal
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