SA Schools Statewide Futsal
On Thursday 27 March, our Open Boys and Girls teams competed in the preliminary rounds of the SA Schools Statewide Futsal Competition at the ARC Campbelltown. Boys The boy’s competition...
On Thursday 8 May 20 students took to the Craigburn Farm MTB trails to represent NIHS in the School Sport SA State MTB Championship. A pleasant day greeted the students as they departed at 7:00am. The teams quickly came together to discuss tactics and goals for the day’s events.
The morning’s events saw our Year 7/8 team—Albert (Year 8), Austin (Year 8), and Angus (Year 7)—take to the track. With some upgraded trail features and an overzealous start, Albert ran into trouble and needed to sit out the remainder of the event. Angus and Austin ensured the team rode every possible lap despite the interrupted start. They logged respectable laps for the full 2-hour race, navigating rock gardens, jumps, and steep inclines. The Year 7/8 team finished with 6 laps in total, averaging 18 minutes per lap of the 3.5 km circuit.
In the afternoon, the senior students took to the track with 7 teams participating. The teams included:
- Year 9/10 – Henry, Jack, Connor
- Year 9/10 Mixed – Grace and Jackson
- Year 9/10 Girls – Serena, Grace S, Willow
- Year 11/12 – Nick and Filipo
- Year 11/12 – Jack and Koby
- Year 11/12 – Noah and Isaac
- Year 11/12 – Remy and Thomas (Year 10)
As the afternoon warmed up, the racing intensity definitely increased, with over 350 riders from more than 30 schools across the state taking part. Some exceptional first laps positioned our teams well, with Jackson and Grace holding 3rd, Remy and Thomas also in 3rd, and the Year 9/10 girls sitting in 2nd early on. The increased length of the circuit and momentum-slowing features proved challenging. Riders consistently saw their heart rates rise above 200bpm on the final section of the lap—a steep, all-out fire road climb.
As the race entered its final 30 minutes, many tactical decisions were made. In this format, each lap had to be completed within the 150-minute total race time. For most teams, this meant pushing their energy to the limit to ensure their final lap counted. For the senior team of Remy and Tom, this was a crucial calculation: a double lap from Remy left only a narrow 12-minute window for Tom to squeeze in one last lap. Despite their best efforts, Tom’s final lap came in less than 10 seconds after the cut-off time, leaving them in a very respectable 3rd place.
The Year 9/10 girls experienced a few minor slips but rode strongly to finish in 3rd place. Grace and Jackson in the Year 9/10 Mixed team pushed hard for a podium placement but narrowly missed out, finishing in 4th. The Year 9/10 team completed 8 laps, averaging 18 minutes 42 seconds per lap, and finished 32nd out of 52 teams. The Year 11/12 teams also rode hard, with only two riders per team: Tom and Remy (3rd), Jack and Koby (23rd), Noah and Isaac (24th), and Nick and Filipo (26th) out of more than 30 teams.
It was an excellent day on the trails, made possible by the assistance of Ms Anson and Mr O’Connell. Congratulations to all our students for their results and efforts representing NIHS at this event.
Ben O’Connell
Learning Area Leader, Health & PE
