Old Boy, and accomplished runner and physio, Mr Geoff Anderson coaches the team and Mr Jeremy White is the TIC for Cross Country. Coaching involves Tuesday and Friday morning breakfast runs from King's High School with hot showers and breakfast provided for boys.
Competitions
There are four major inter-school competitions in Term 2 held in school time, so boys who play another winter sport can take part in cross country. These are the Caversham Road Relays teams of four; Milton Cross Country Relays four; Otago Cross Country Championships (four age groups), which caters for individuals and teams of three; and the Logan Park Individual Road Race. One of the most enjoyable events of the year is the trip to the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Cross Country Championships in June.
History
Cross Country has been one of King's most successful sports for the last 20 years. In that time, several national champions and New Zealand representatives have been produced.
In some cases these boys' talents were discovered and nurtured at King's. In Otago, the King's senior and junior teams are seldom beaten. The King's senior team of six runners has won the popular Milton Cross Country Relays for Otago/Southland schools six years in a row. Boys are supported well by an excellent fundraising team so travel to faraway places is possible for everyone.
With over 1000 runners, the NZSS Cross Country Championships is one of the biggest of its type in the world. King's boys travel to venues such as Palmerston North, Napier and Nelson to compete. Our record at these championships is outstanding. In the last 20 years we have produced three individual champions and one national champion team, as well as several top three placings. To do this we have had to compete against boys' schools double our size. At the local level, King's is hard to defeat with numerous first placings.
Our Hall Of Fame - Blair Martin-NZSS Cross Country Junior Champion. Nick Lee-NZSS Cross Country Junior Champion. Tim Dobier-NZSS Cross Country Senior Champion. Max Smith - NZSS Cross Country, Senior Boys' Runner-Up. Tim Dobier, Eddie Smith, Ian White-NZSS Cross Country Senior Boys' Team of Three Champions.
Several other teams have won medals at these championships.
Lyndon Brown, Tony Payne, Daniel Balchin, Robert Brown, Caden Shields are all recent outstanding achievers who have represented their province and New Zealand or become NZ Champions in middle and long distance events upon leaving school.
For more information contact:
Mr Jeremy White
Teacher in Charge
wt@kingshigh.school.nz