Speed, skill and endurance were put to the test by our team competing in the Torpedo7 Hillary Challenge Final earlier this month.
The team made up of Sarah Jackson, Briana Cardon, Lane Tims, Tom Brown, Henry Carr (all Year 13), Lily Carr-Paterson, Miah McDonald (both Year 12) and Arna Morris (Year 11) finished in a remarkable sixth place overall.
Our students joined 11 other New Zealand schools at Hillary Outdoors Tongariro for the 18th annual challenge, held May 7-11, that seeks to find the top Secondary School outdoor adventure team in the country.
The first two days consisted of 12 one-hour challenges which were a mix of physical, mental and team work challenges such as running, mountain biking, high ropes, rafting, kayaking and navigation.
The expedition rogaine took place on days three and four, where the students loaded up their packs (20+ kg each) and headed into National Park to get to as many checkpoints as possible. They camped overnight as part of this expedition.
On the final day, they completed a 50km multisport race which included rafting, running and mountain biking.
“The team performed amazingly. It was the first time in a long time St Paul’s has competed while most of the other schools competing had long experience in the competition. To place sixth was an extraordinary achievement,” says teacher Mr Keegan Stewart.
The team’s main sponsor was Power Farming Ltd. Other sponsors included Swazi and donations to support the trip were received from the Parents Association and Kevin Deane.
“Special thanks goes to Tilly Young (Gap Tutor) who helped during the week and Boyd McManus (Tihoi) who helped train the students at National Park,” says Mr Stewart.
