Athletics

Athletics at St Paul's

Olliver Smith attends Young Olympians Camp 2010

We offer a relaxed friendly training environment for students of all ability. Programmes are devised to cater for individual students needs within the training group they are with. Students are required to make a basic commitment to training, but the coaches also ensure there is plenty of opportunity available for extra training to take place.

Many students will take the opportunity to join a local club and race using the training they have received at school. For other students training is enough, there is no compulsion to compete at local athletic meetings, but our programme does help prepare them for our school athletic sports.

We have a tradition of success on the national stage with a number of individual athletes placing at national championships. Some have gone on to represent New Zealand in their chosen athletic discipline.

The “bumble bee” singlet is especially prominent in relays at the National Secondary School’s Track and Field Championships. In the last 8 years at least one of the School’s relay teams has achieved a top 3 placing at Nationals. Our junior boys 4 x 400m relay team has been national champions three times in the last four years and our senior girls 4 x 400m team are the current national champions. St Paul’s Collegiate also, still holds the national secondary schools record for the senior boys 4 x 100m relay.

We take a great deal of pride in seeing our students achieve personal bests in competition or in training, but at all times our focus remains on making training and competing as enjoyable as possible, regardless of athletic ability.

St Paul’s Collegiate School Athletics Philosophy

"Providing opportunities for athletes of all ability."

Coaches Profile

Mr Martin Holmes

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Martin has had an involvement in Athletics for 30 years, firstly as an athlete and then in the last 15 years as a coach and administrator. While at school he won the national secondary schools senior boys 3000m title on the track twice and the national secondary schools senior boys cross country title twice also. He also represented New Zealand at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Athens in 2006. As a senior athlete he was a silver medallist in the national senior men’s 3000m championship event and won numerous Waikato Bay of Plenty titles on road and track. Injury and illness saw him retire from competitive athletics at the age of 26. Not long after which he turned his attention to coaching middle distance runners. He is also the current Chairperson of the Waikato Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools Athletics Association.

Mr Gary Henley-Smith

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Gary has been involved in Athletics for the past 40 years. He won NZ Secondary Schools titles and U18 titles from 1974 – 1977. Gary placed second in the Senior mens 100m in 1976 – 77. He was the National 100m and 200m record holder for the U18, U20 and Senior mens 100m . He was selected for the New Zealand and then the Oceania Team in 1977 while at school. In 1978, Gary went to United States on an Athletic Scholarship to Washington State University. Unfortunatley for him, he missed selection for the Commonwealth Games in 1978 due to a stress fracture. After completing his degree Gary returned to win a number of Provincial and National titles in 100m and 200m. Gary was selected to represent NZ in 1989 and 1990 (Commonwealth Games in the 4x100m). Gary started his coaching career thirty years ago. During this time Gary has coached a number of athletes to Provincial, National Champions, and New Zealand Representatives in different distances; 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, relays, 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles at Secondary School and U20 and Senior level in the Auckland and Waikato region. Gary has been an Auckland and Waikato Coach. In 1998 – 2000 Gary was National Sprints and Relays Coach and Advisor for Athletics NZ.