The host of the 72nd O’Shea Shield competition, St Catherine’s College, shared top place with Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt, in the event held on the weekend of May 12-13.
The competition was stiff as evidenced by the tie for the shield as well as a tie for the Bishop Viard Memorial Trophy for runner up. This trophy was jointly won by three schools — St Patrick’s College (Wellington), St John’s College (Hastings), and Sacred Heart College (New Plymouth).
St Catherine’s College
The theme for the weekend was “Youth — Faith — Joy”, drawn from the preparatory document for the synod on “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment”, called by Pope Francis to be held in October this year.
St Catherine’s has a very proud history of success in this competition. While last year, the college placed third, they won the shield the previous four consecutive years. The school has always been among the top three in the competition for the past 20 years.
Sacred Heart College
On the other hand, Sacred Heart College head of English Bronwyn Davies said her school was “euphoric” over the victory as it had been 11 years since they last won the shield.
“It seems the secret to our success was the support all 15 team members gave each other on the weekend, by attending and cheering at every event and giving each other support and pep talks between events. A little bit of prayer also goes a long way,” she said.
“Eight staff were also involved in coaching and mentoring the students in the lead up to the event, so students felt confident even before competing. Mrs Anne Davie deserves a special mention, she has coached the Religious Questions team for many years after being trained herself in questioning methods by a former principal, Sr Valerie,” she added. She also hoped the college could defend the shield next year.
The full results of the competition were: St Catherine’s Cup for the Best Negative Debating Team: Jade Alborn, Megan Ritchie and Theodore Gabites (Garin College); St Mary’s Cup for the Best Affirmative Debating Team: Barnaby Elder, Ralph Zambrano, Joseph Sison (St Patrick’s College, Wellington); Te Kaipānui i te Kupu Cup for Scripture Reading in Te Reo Māori, Section A: Wharewaiata Rolls (St John’s College); Te Kaipānui i te Kupu Cup for Scripture Reading in Te Reo Māori, Section B: Moana Paringatai-Hare (St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College); George Family Cup for Junior Prepared Speech Section A: Brereton McKee (St Catherine’s College); Vaughan Family Cup for Junior Prepared Speech Section B: Zach Newton (St Patrick’s College, Wellington); Cardinal McKeefry Cup for Oratory Section A: Tuiamaleali’ifano Fiso (Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt); Bishop Cullinane Cup for Oratory Section B: Marcus Tumaai (St Patrick’s College, Wellington); Catherine McAuley Cup for Scripture Reading Section A: Laura Hewson (Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt); St Peter Chanel Cup for Scripture Reading Section B: Dylan Bennett (St Bernard’s College); Bishop Owen Snedden Memorial Cup for Drama: Bri Mitchell, Josephine Paxie, Anna Rogers, Shana Corkill, Zoe Simpson (St Mary’s College); Society of Mary Cup for Drama: Theo Gordon, Martin McPhee, Viki Moananu, Tamati Moriarty, Aaron de Rose (St Patrick’s College, Wellington) and William Adams, Max Clifton, Sebastian White, Te Atatu Patelesio, Manase Taulanga (St Patrick’s College, Silverstream); Sacred Heart Lower Hutt Jubilee Cup for Impromptu Speaking Section A: Caleb Mathews (Hato Pāora College); Silverstream Cup for Impromptu Speaking Section B: Brendan English (St Patrick’s College, Silverstream); Hibernian Cup for Religious Questions Section A: Janina Go, Maia Cunningham, Amber Woolcock (Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt); Mercy Cup for Religious Questions Section B: Min Xin Lee, Anna Bejoy, Kayley Hamlyn (St Mary’s College); and the Jubilee Plaque awarded to the hosting school for 2019: St Peter’s College (Palmerston North).
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