The coveted Rose Shield will remain at home for another year as Geraldine Athletics successfully mounted an effort to retain it.
Held in the Geraldine Domain, the annual interclub Rose Shield competition pits athletes from Geraldine, Ashburton, Waimate, Temuka and South Canterbury against each other for the honour of taking home the shield.
Geraldine Athletics president Corey Woods said the day was very successful.
‘‘It was a nice sunny day — the weather was exceptional. Our club had 30 members participate, which was a bit more than we usually get — so there was a good turnout of numbers, and the athletes of all ages just had a blast.
‘‘There was a lot of good sportsmanship and encouragement shown and everyone just really enjoyed themselves.’’
Throughout the day it was a constant battle between Ashburton and Geraldine for the top spot, he said.
‘‘We were regularly changing places on the points table, just constantly overtaking each other until the end result which was Geraldine winning.’’
Geraldine retained the shield by just six points, finishing on 380 points with Ashburton within touching distance on 374.
Points were allocated based on event placement, with five points given to first place, three points to second and one point to third.
If one club finished in all three positions, they were allocated only the points for first and second place.
Each interclub member has their own silverware that everyone competes for and the Rose Shield is Geraldine’s.
The shield was given to the Geraldine Athletics Club by the Rose family and the first year it was contested was 1964-65, when South Canterbury was the first club to claim it.
Mr Woods said it was great to keep the shield in Geraldine again.
‘‘We won it off Ashburton in 2021. Last year was a washout event — we didn’t get to have it. So to retain it properly by actual points was a better thing than to retain it by a nonevent.’’
It was great to be a part of the Mid and South Canterbury interclub competitions, he said.
‘‘It really helps to build the confidence in the kids, especially since most clubs start them out as 6-year-olds. It’s good to have a lot of opportunity to foster that competition and help grow the kids that are keen to do it.’’
The club will now be turning its attention to the Jubilee Shield competition in Waimate, which is competed for by the three smaller clubs: Geraldine, Temuka and Waimate.
