We are very excited to welcome you to our wonderful school and want your transition into Heaton to be as smooth as possible. Please find a range of information below that we hope will make you aware of the sporting opportunities we provide in term one, and how things work at Heaton. If you have any further questions about our sports programme, please check in with your class teacher or contact Mrs Henderson (hendersonk@heaton.school.nz).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out about upcoming sports events, competitions, training session times or things I can get involved in?
Sporting opportunities will be advertised in the Heaton daily notices. The daily notices will be shared in your class at the beginning of each day. There are times however when reading the notices may not be possible, so it is your personal responsibility to ensure you check these either at home the night before, or on your personal or class device when you arrive. The Heaton daily notices can be accessed via the Heaton website or by using the following link: https://www.heaton.school.nz/calendar/
Teachers and coaches may also email sporting opportunities and event information to your school Gmail account. It is also your personal responsibility to check your email once per day (during school days).
If you have any questions or concerns throughout the term, please check in with a year 8 student, sport leader, peer support leader, class teacher or Mrs Henderson as we are all here to help you, and guide you through the process.
How do I sign up for an event, sports trial or express my interest in a competition?
All sign-ups and expressions of interest for sporting events at Heaton are done online, via a google form. Sign-up forms will be uploaded to the ‘Trial and Event Registrations’ tab of our SportsBlog and in the daily notices. If you want to register for an event, trial or competition you have to do so within a particular timeframe. These deadlines are in place as schools need enough time to register teams, organise teacher release, complete risk assessment forms, coordinate trials, liaise with parents etc.
The sign ups and expression of interest forms for term one will be uploaded to the sport blog as soon as possible. Please remember that each sport, tournament or activity has different deadlines for registering, so please read the information carefully. N.B. Some opportunities in term one will be for year 8 students only.
If you are having trouble signing up for an event, have any questions with the process or do not know what to do, you must check in with your class teacher and/or Mrs Henderson to ask for help. When you sign up for an event you will have to provide your school or personal email address. This is because you will receive an email confirmation that your expression of interest has been received (so you will know that you have filled in the form correctly).
If you make a mistake on your first submitted form or preference or do not receive a confirmation, submit another entry and Mrs Henderson will delete your first, incorrect response.
Learning to meet deadlines and being organised is an important part of attending an intermediate school. Late entries and expressions of interest will not be accepted, so please ensure you are independent and take responsibility.
Can I sign up or register for lots of different events?
As long as sporting events are not scheduled on the same day at the same time, you are encouraged and welcome to sign up for lots of different opportunities at Heaton. E.g. If you would like to take part in both the Friday night water polo competition and the Hagley Sport sessions, you are very welcome to do so. It is important, however, that you read all sports/event rules and information carefully, as some activities involve paying a registration fee, have a weekly cost, happen outside of school hours, or have limited participation spaces available.
What do I do if I don’t make a team or miss out on an opportunity?
Feeling upset and disappointed for missing out on a sporting opportunity or not making a particular team is completely natural. It shows your coaches and teachers what this event or opportunity meant to you, and gives us an insight into your desire, passion and interests.
We will all feel disappointment at one stage or another along our sporting journey. Setbacks are inevitable in anything worthwhile achieving. What is really important in this process is looking at how we can learn and develop from our disappointments. We want you to develop the resilience to use your setbacks to give you extra motivation, and the drive to work harder and come back even stronger.
When you experience disappointment, the first thing at Heaton we encourage you to do is point the thumb, rather that the finger (don’t blame others or complain).
Use your energy to reflect, communicate and plan. Speak with your Heaton coach and class teacher about how you are feeling, and ask yourself some really important questions, such as:
- What do I need to continue to work on to improve my performance?
- How can I get better at this part of my game?
- How can I continue to strengthen and develop those things that I am good at?
- What am I going to do next time to improve my outcome or result?
- What is my next goal and how can I go about achieving it?
- Is there anything that I could have done differently to improve my chance of success?
If you have never approached a coach or teacher by yourself to seek feedback, it will be a challenge. Doing something for the first time is never easy, however by taking ownership and being independent, you will be empowered to make change and improve. Coaches love it when players ask for feedback and advice!
Whats is happening in term one? – 2025
Heaton Swimming Sports
Heaton’s school swimming sport competition takes place at Wharenui Pool, on Wednesday 12th February. This event is not compulsory, however, we encourage and recommend students to get involved so you can have fun and earn points for your kaupeka. Students can register for their specific events online at our ‘Trial and Event Registrations’ tab. The 25m events are designed for our students who are beginners or have very little experience, whilst our 50m events are for more confident and competent swimmers.
Based on the results of our school event, a representative Heaton team will be selected to compete in the annual Canterbury AIMS Inter-Schools Swimming Championships (held on Tuesday 1st April @ the Selwyn Aquatic Centre)
Triathlon
The Inter-Schools Triathlon is open to both year 7 and year 8 students. The event takes place on Tuesday 25th February, at a property on Sth Eyre Road (outside of Christchurch). Due to the equipment requirements and location of this event, students who participate will require the support of a caregiver/family member for transportation and supervision.
Our school is limited to entering nine Yr.7 (any gender combination) and nine Yr.8 students (any gender combination). Please express your interest by accessing the ‘Trial and Event Registrations’ tab and completing the google form.
The Triathlon is a competitive event where each athlete is required to swim 100m in a lake, cycle 10.6 km and run 2.3km. In the event that we are over-subscribed (more than 9 students want to participate in a particular year level), students will be selected based on experience and/or trial times (more information to follow if required).
Water Polo
Heaton enters multiple teams into the termly after-school Canterbury Water Polo competitions. There is an A/B Grade (Full Pool) Competition which takes place on Monday evenings, and a C/D/E Grade (1/2 Pool) Competition which takes place on Friday evenings. There will be a term one expression of interest form made available on our ‘Trial and Event Registrations’ tab so please check this information carefully.
Water Polo is coached by parent/caregiver helpers, and/or ex Heaton students that played during their time at school. Teams are mixed gender, and there are opportunities for both experienced and beginners to take part across both year levels. You do not have to have played water polo before to be in a Friday evening team, however you must be a confident swimmer and be able to tread water.
Summer Tournament Day (Inter-Schools Competition) – Year 8 Only
The Summer Tournament Day is a one day (inter-schools) event that takes place on Tuesday 7th March
The following sports are on offer: Boys Cricket, Girls Cricket, Tennis (you must register for the Heaton Tennis Champs to be considered), Touch, Softball, Golf, Orienteering and Lawn Bowls. Some sports do have entry restrictions due to available facilities e.g. cricket pitches. We also may have to cap team numbers at a certain number due to available adult helpers and coaches.
Our school always registers as many teams as possible into tournaments as we want you to be playing, competing and improving. If you have a parent/caregiver who is passionate about sport and who would like to assist in a coaching or supervising role, please encourage them to email Mrs Henderson (hendersonk@heaton.school.nz).
As there are only a few weeks of school before the Summer Tournament, students can register their interest for one sport only. This will provide our teachers with enough time to coordinate trials and to run training sessions prior to the 4th March. The Summer Tournament is open to Year 8 students only. Please note, the Heaton Tennis Team will be selected based on the results of our school tennis championships.
Weekly Winter Sports – expressions of interest
Expressions of interest for the wide range of winter sports that are available at Heaton (basketball, netball, tackle rugby, football, table tennis, squash, badminton, rippa rugby etc.) will be available midway through term one. This reason for this is because these sports are played across terms 2 and 3.
Heaton Sport 