Whakatāne High School’s 88 students had an absolute buzz on their recent sporting tour to Australia.

During the July school holidays, the students, along with 11 staff, travelled to the Gold Coast to take part in a sports programme and play games against local opposition.

Organisation for the tour began in early 2023 and thanks to a bunch of committed crew at the school, it was able to go ahead.

All up, the school took eight sporting teams.

The group stayed at the Gold Coast Performance Centre, a purpose-built facility that has accommodation, a hockey turf, swimming pool, athletics track and a big open-air gym.

For the first three days, the students lived like high-performance athletes as they participated in a programme run by the centre that included practical activities such as foundation testing, speed for sport, boxing, Zumba, athletic development and ice baths.

Alongside these activities, they had classroom sessions on nutrition, goal setting and passion and purpose, all of which they loved and intend to apply to their sports in New Zealand.

For the next six days, the students took part in a series of games, with every team playing at least twice.

The boys’ rugby team had two close games, a nerve-wracking 15-14 victory against Gold Coast Eagles and a 36-22 win against Surfers Paradise Dolphins, two thrilling contests.

The girls’ hockey team went down 1-0 to Labrador and beat St John’s Anglican 1-0.

The boys’ hockey team went down 2-0 to Labrador in a tight match and bounced back to draw with St Johns Anglican, 3-3.

The girls’ volleyball team were too strong for St John’s, putting in a sharp performance to win three sets to nil.

The girls’ netball team had two big wins, beating St Hilda’s, 39-9, and Ormeau, 46-8

The boys’ football team had some close games, drawing with Runaway Bay 2-2, a high-scoring loss to St John’s, 7-4, and a draw against Redfield College, 2-2.

The girls’ football team had a tough 7-0 loss against Runaway Bay, who are top of the club table in the local competition, before having a 7-1 win over Ormeau.

The boys’ basketball team played some good basketball as they went down 54-44 to St Johns, beat Ormeau Sophomores, 61-27 and then had a last-minute extra-time win over Ormeau Seniors, 51-50.

In between the games, the students attended two NRL games, the Broncos against the Panthers at Suncorp Stadium and the Eels versus the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium.

Staff said for the students it was also a trip of many firsts – first time leaving their region, on a plane, going overseas, playing rugby and football at night, having a female referee for a boys’ rugby game, and playing hockey on a grass field.

Due to the success of the trip, the school is hoping to do another trip in 2026.