Wednesday 12 November 2025
On Saturday 8 November, a team of four students from King’s College - team captain Tate Chong (Year 12, Greenbank), Keanu Schoppe-Denk (Year 11, Major), Cory Parlane (Year 11, Selwyn) and Ronan Tam (Year 12, School) proudly competed in the Fourtress CrossFit competition.
Run by Discipline Games, this open competition saw our students enter the Novice Division. Being the youngest team by a significant margin, they were warmly welcomed by the other competitors (many of whom were seasoned CrossFit athletes) who were highly impressed to see such a young team stepping up to the challenge.
The competition consisted of four extremely challenging workouts staged across four hours. These events tested their cardio, strength, endurance fitness, teamwork, and strategy to their maximum.
The students spent many weeks training together, focusing on the required movements and workouts, all while preparing for their exams. Notably, for three out of the four team members, this was their first CrossFit competition experience, and the commitment they showed was incredible. They achieved very impressive results, including an 8th and 9th placing of 19 teams, in two of the workouts.
I couldn’t be more proud of this wonderful team of students. They have given their all to this competition, representing the College with great pride and dignity. Going up against experienced adult male teams was no mean feat, and the results achieved were outstanding. They more than held their own and have shown what their future in this sport looks like. As the only school team in this competition, the other teams showed them great respect and were encouraging and very supportive of our students. These four men were great ambassadors for Kings College.
I would like to thank both Mr Chong Luo and Mrs Catherine Lamb for their huge level of commitment in assisting and preparing these young men for this competition especially in my absence. A special thank you to the Chong whanau who have championed our CrossFit students at competitions throughout the year, as well as Mr Ged Leicester who spent most of Saturday on the side-line to support the team.
Finally, a special mention to Ronan Tam for stepping-in to compete for the team with only 48 hours notice - thank you!