Latest news with #OtagoBoys'HighSchool
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Ghillies on, aboynes donned, bagpipes ready
Highland dancers (from left) Eleanor McKay Vercoe, 10, Lara Mills, 8, Elise Cookson, 7, and Lucy McKay Vercoe, 6, are ready to perform at the 113th Annual Highland and National Dancing Championships at Otago Boys' High School today. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON While many of us will be blissfully sleeping in this weekend, hundreds of Highland and National dancers will be flinging themselves across a stage to the skirl of bagpipes. Piping and Dancing Association of New Zealand Otago Centre president Shiobhan Smith said about 120 dancers of all ages, from as far away as Auckland, would be competing in the 113th Annual Highland and National Dancing Championships at Otago Boys' High School. She said the Otago provincial competition had attracted so many competitors this year because South Island dancing titles were also on offer at the championships. "So there'll be awards for South Island level dancing as well as Otago level dancing, all in the same competition." She said it was also very popular because the competition had a very long history. "The actual Piping and Dancing Association of New Zealand started in Dunedin, hence why we have that long history. "A number of the cups and trophies that we give out, have been awarded since at least the 1920s. "They often have the who's who of Highland dancing from the last 100 years as winners [are] engraved on them, so there's a lot of prestige in doing well at these competitions. "It is also one of the best big competitions for competitors to compete in, in order to complete their preparations for the New Zealand championships in July." At the same time, the Otago Centre would be running the 113th Annual Solo Piping Competitions at John McGlashan College, where about 65 pipers would be vying for Otago, South Island and national titles, she said. "If we weren't doing this on a King's Birthday weekend, we'd be sleeping in. "But we're a passionate bunch. "I don't think any of us could see ourselves doing anything but. "There's no such thing as sleeping in on a weekend like this — not with all the bagpipes around." Entry to both events is free.
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Dancers, pipers to converge on Dunedin
Junior dancer Lara Mills, 8, will compete in the Otago Centre annual Highland & National Dancing Championship competitions. Photo: supplied Dunedin will host hundreds of pipers and Highland dancers from across the country for the annual Championship Piping & Highland & National Dancing Competitions over King's Birthday Weekend. The Highland & National Dancing Championship competitions will be held this Saturday and Sunday, from 8.30am at Otago Boys' High School, and the Piping Championship competitions will be held at John McGlashan College at the same time. The dancing sections will include more than 100 competitors, coming from as far afield as Auckland and Invercargill, ranging in age from under 6 years to 18 years and over. The piping championship competition will involve about 65 competitors, ranging from under 16 years to open events. Organisers from the Otago Centre of the Piping & Dancing Association of New Zealand say competition will be particularly strong across the lower grades. The competition weekend will finish with New Zealand's top solo pipers coming together for the Double March, Reel and Strathspey event, to be held at the Leisure Lodge on Saturday night, June 1, from 7.30pm. All welcome, entry costs $10. @
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Finding the right balance in mind, body and spirit
Otago Boys' High School student Gus Attenborough delivers an impassioned speech about racist micro-aggressions at the Ōtākou and Murihiku Ngā Manu Kōrero regional speech competition in the Dunedin Town Hall yesterday. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN Strength, fitness and delivering big tackles are all secondary to having a balanced mindset, a young rugby player told a packed Dunedin Town Hall during a Maori speech competition. Mount Aspiring College student Ryan Tuki Enoka, 17, took part in the Pei Te Hurinui Jones senior Maori contest at the Ōtākou and Murihiku Ngā Manu Kōrero regional speech competition yesterday. He said he wanted take part in the competition to push the kaupapa (purpose) of his speech rather than to win. Ryan felt it was important to have Maori representation and influence in all areas of sport because it was beneficial for the athletes. His approach to playing rugby changed when he trialled for the New Zealand Maori under-18 team. ''Their main focus is on your wairua [spirit or soul] and how you are as a person more than focusing on you as an athlete. ''When I started [playing] it was all about how strong I am, how fit I am and how big my tackles are. ''But as I spent time in that space, I kind of learnt there's more to being a good athlete than just being the best on the physical side.'' He found that if his wairua was balanced and he was in a good space mentally, his performance was better on the field. ''I find my performances are more consistent when I'm looking after myself, not just physically but mentally too. ''I love it, I find more enjoyment in it and it makes me connect more with people I play sport with, which to me is now so important.'' Ryan always wanted to take part in the competition to honour his culture and whanau. He did not speak te reo Maori growing up in Wanaka - a ''pretty Pakeha'' town. He had spent the past two years becoming proficient in speaking the language and growing a deeper understanding of his culture. ''I'm loving [the journey],'' he said. ''It connects me with so many awesome people, whether it's through Māori sport or Māori competitions like this.'' About 40 speakers from 23 schools across Otago and Southland were taking part in the competition. Ngā Manu Kōrero organiser Cherie Ford said she had been organising the competition for about 20 years and the level of presentation and messages being conveyed improved every year. There were a record number of entries across the event, particularly in the te reo Maori section. She said seeing students such as Ryan on their te reo journey was inspiring to the adults present at the event as well. The competition will conclude today with the junior speeches.
Otago Daily Times
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Sky to resume First XV coverage
Sky Sport is resuming coverage of First XV rugby following a two-year hiatus. It has announced plans to broadcast up to 20 games, including the Southern Schools Rugby Championship fixture between Otago Boys' High School and King's High School on July 19. Another confirmed game is the rivalry between last year's national runners-up, Nelson College, and Marlborough Boys' College on May 29. That will be followed by a North Harbour 1A derby between 2023 Top Four finalists Westlake Boys' High School and Rosmini College on June 7. While First XV draws are still being confirmed, Sky Sport is making plans with the support of schools around the country to broadcast up to 20 games this year. Nine have been confirmed to date. The full list will be released when available. There are no plans to broadcast any Auckland 1A games as a media ban has remained in place since October 2022. School principals cited "the wellbeing of the students" for the ban as they believed they were being exposed to "an unhealthy level of scrutiny in both traditional and social media". Gary Burchett, head of sport content at Sky, said the scheduled broadcasts would help highlight some of the best schoolboy rugby from across the country. "The return of First XV rugby to Sky Sport allow us to connect and uplift school rugby on a national scale, and to highlight and support the passionate and positive tribalism that exists within New Zealand's school communities," Burchett said. "We've heard from rugby fans around the country that they appreciate the opportunity to follow the fortunes of school teams, whether they're school age themselves, or continuing to support a team that they've long held an interest in." — APL
Otago Daily Times
03-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
He put the ‘Mac' into Mactodd
Alan Macalister's practised law in Queenstown for 50 years, if in a more limited role of late. PHOTO: PHILIP CHANDLER Fifty years ago, Alan Macalister became just Queenstown's third full-time lawyer when he started what's today the resort's largest locally owned law firm, Mactodd. After successfully growing the firm, he retired in 2001, but remains a consultant. Following secondary school at Dunedin's Otago Boys' High School, Alan says he enrolled to study law because of "rather distant family connections to the practice of law". After two years at Otago Uni and short of funds, he joined the Public Trust as an estate administrator for three years. His sole connection to the university was one capping week during which he was engaged in the capping concert, wool store hops, in which bands performed in a wool store, and leading the capping pipe band through the Public Trust Office and numerous other premises then onto the air at 4ZB. After a meeting with the law faculty dean, however, he resumed his studies and qualified as a solicitor of the High Court two years later. He was employed by Dunedin's Ross Dowling before joining Macalister Bros in Invercargill which he became a partner of — his grandfather and other Macalisters had formerly been there. He was then invited to open a Queenstown office. Alan's initial office was a tiny two-bedroom cottage in Shotover St. Two years later he bought his partners out and set up APM Macalister. In those days he says he had no option but to practise all areas of law including court work. He did quite a bit of commercial work and also got business from the borough and county councils, then the waterways and airport authorities. In those pre-internet and even pre-fax days, "you had to get things done in Queenstown — instructions didn't float away to other centres". With growth, Alan took on ever-bigger offices and, significantly, brought onboard in the 1980s partners Graeme Todd and Kevin Phillips as the firm was renamed Macalister Todd Phillips. A lot of his commercial work involved overseas clients, including, he recalls, with realtor Locations, offering 13 commercial properties, not on the market, to offshore clients who purchased 12. Alan says the firm was always technologically advanced, and pre-internet used CompuServe when serving overseas clients. Famously, they produced Christmas cards for many years depicting the partners in funny poses. At the bottom was the wording, 'lest we take ourselves too seriously' — "that became an internal motto". Alan also served as the local coroner for about 30 years, investigating, as he said when he stepped down in 2011, "unexplained and violent deaths". "I'm not aware of any other coroners exceeding 30 years — no doubt there are some out there. "Many of the inquires were interesting in themselves, and also important to resolve for the families and friends involved." Legal work even took him to the United States, India, Pakistan, Singapore and Malaysia. Outside of law he's a proud father of James and Jacqui. In the mid-'90s he converted to Buddhism and went on many retreats as well as a pilgrimage in the footsteps of the Buddha in northern India. "Meditation formed an important part of daily life, but simply practising compassion makes life easier." He's a founding trustee of the Lake Street Trust and Rainbow Mountain Trust — the former operates the Dharma Centre in Lake St. Alan was founding deputy chair of the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce. He was also approached by two Rotarians to set up Abbeyfield's elderly housing in Frankton, which took five years. He did the job on the proviso he didn't have to report to a committee. "My modus operandi has been to help set [projects] up then move on — committee membership is not my strong point." Now 83, Alan's main roles at Mactodd, as it's now called, are as a notary public, verifying the authenticity of documents, and as an adviser to charitable organisations. With most charitable projects he's been involved with it's been to facilitate funding, often funding of last resort, through Amisfield Trust, of which he and David Swiffen were founding trustees, and Mactodd Community Charitable Trust. As for Queenstown's growth, "I thought the growth was there, to be honest", he says. He still has great faith in its future, saying people who think it's been ruined were saying this even last century. However, having been here 50 years "I'd have to admit the difficult parking and traffic jams were not something I thought I was signing up for".
