Whilst most winter sports have been working their way through grading rounds, college hockey has been up and running since the start of May, with another competitive Boys and Girls season already year unfolding.

In total there are 28 schools playing in this year’s College Sport Wellington combined hockey competitions, with 31boys and 33 girls teams in action every week at the region’s five hockey venues on Wednesdays (Juniors), Thursdays (P3 and P4) and Fridays (P1 and 2).

Another exciting and competitive P1 competition in both Boys and Girls divisions is already underway.  There are eight schools competing in the two P1 competitions, which will culminate on Finals Night at the National Hockey Stadium on 21 August.

The lead-up to that sees a seven-match round-robin series (three rounds already played, four to come), followed by a three-week top four bottom four series and then quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals.

Recapping last year, in P1, Wellington Girls’ College defended their title with a 2-0 win in the final over Queen Margaret College and St Pat’s Silverstream beat Wellington College 3-1 in a shootout after it was all tied up at fulltime.  Aotea College won P2 Boys and Scots College P2 Girls.

The slate is wiped clean this year though as many of last year’s leading players have left and new players introduced.

The eight teams playing Boys P1 this year are: Aotea College, Hutt International Boys’ School, Onslow College, Rongotai College, St Pat’s Silverstream, Scots College, Tawa College and Wellington College.

After the opening three rounds, Silverstream have won one and drawn two, to be behind Wellington College with two wins and a draw and early pacesetters Hutt International Boys’ School.

HIBS have beaten Tawa College 4-2, Rongotai College 3-2 and newly promoted Aotea College 4-1 – but have yet to play Silverstream and Wellington College.  The first of these is this coming Friday at Maidstone Park against Silverstream and the second is on 12 June at the NHS against Wellington College.

Wellington College started confidently with 5-1 and 6-0 wins over Tawa and Scots College respectively, but in between those results were held to a 0-0 draw with Rongotai.

The P1 Girls competition is always hotly contested with a youthful Wellington Girls’ still the team to beat and gunning for their eighth straight title.

Eight is also the number of returning players this year to WGC squad, along with eight new players including six year 10s which is the most their First XI has fielded in at least a decade.

WGC is captained by Maia McKee, their sole player named in the recently selected Wellington U18s Girls squad.  Nell Laracy-McCrystal is vice-captain, transferring her cricket skills to the hockey turf, having represented New Zealand in Indoor Cricket.  Both players have returned for their fourth straight seasons in the squad, providing inspiration for the new group coming through.

Lesina Pereira and Kahu Kirikiri are in their fourth year coaching this team together, having started in 2023.

Lesina said: “Defending a seven-peat legacy is a big pressure, and this year’s competition in Wellington is looking incredibly strong so it won't be easy. However the team is gelling together well and is on track with where we would want them to be, and it has been awesome seeing our older players step up, and our newer players gain more confidence.”

“We are very optimistic for the future of WGC hockey because this year’s team has such a large cohort of strong, younger players, they will continue to maintain this level of hockey over the next few years.”

The teams competing in the Girls P1 competition are Paraparaumu College, Queen Margaret College, Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Scots College, St Oran’s College, Tawa College, Wellington East Girls’ College and Wellington Girls’ College.

The first three weeks have generally been even, with six of the eight teams having had two wins so far.

Like in the boys, a feature match this coming Friday will see Paraparaumu College host Wellington Girls’ at home on the Kapiti Turf. The 2025 final rematch between WGC and QMC takes place at the NHS on Friday 19 June.

The Premier 2 (P2) competitions run alongside the P1 ones, already three weeks in. The P2 Boys is a five-team competition, with Kapiti College, Kuranui College, Paraparaumu College, St Pat’s Town and the Wellington College 2^nd XI all competing.

Kuranui could be the team to beat, with three straight wins so far over St Pat’s, Paraparaumu and the Wellington College 2nds.

In the six-team P2 Girls competition, Sacred Heart College have won their first three games. Other schools competing are Aotea College, Kapiti College, Mana College, Onslow and the Wellington Girls’ College 2^nd XI.

Last week Wellington Hockey named their 2026 U18s Boys and Girls squads, these are here:

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Article courtesy of College Sport Media

Photo courtesy of Photo Wellington