Heihei was in the W12 Junior Girls team that won gold in the 500m event at the Waka Ama World Sprint Championships and her W6 team also finished fourth over 1500m. Perhaps the biggest deal about her success is that she only began paddling last year. Halkyard is another natural athlete and was one of the go-to players in a talented Northern Swords 17s squad; he was also selected to trial for the NZ 16s Rugby League team as well as for the NZ Under 16 Basketball Team. Champion swimmer Melita Raravula, was a big winner in the ASB Secondary School Sports Awards. The Pompallier College student was named sportswoman of the year at the awards ceremony with Whangarei Boys High School's Mason Reed named sportsman of the year. Raravula competed at the NZ Open Championships which doubled as an Olympic trial, making the A final in one event, and last week she was selected to represent New Zealand at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival to be held at Sydney in January. Reed finished the year ranked as the top junior trap shooter in the country. He was selected to represent New Zealand in the NZ Oceania Trap Team, but instead took his place in the Whangarei Boys' High School shooting team that competed successfully in the NZ Secondary School Championships.