Summer Learning Journey | Week 4

Contemparary Kiwis

Day 2 - A Decade of Sport (2000 - 2010)

Activity 1 | Chasing Great

Over the past 17 years, New Zealand has experienced a number of sporting highlights, perhaps none larger than the back-to-back Rugby World Cup victories in 2011 and 2015. In both competitions, our national rugby team, the All Blacks, was captained by a man named Richie McCaw. He is arguably one of the best rugby players of all time. A movie called Chasing Great was recently created to document his incredible rugby career.

Please watch the trailer for Chasing Great and read about Richie McCaw online. On your blog tell us three things that you learned about Richie that you did not know beforehand. What else would you like to know about Richie?

Richie McCaw | Chasing Great

> Richie was just 23 when he became captain for the All Blacks in 2004.

> He led the All Blacks to 13 victories in 14 Tests.

> He was the first All Black to reach 100 tests in 2011.

Something I would like to know about Richie is how he felt when he was given the title of The All Black's captain. Was he anxious or excited?

Activity 2 | Sporting Heros

In 2015, a Kiwi golfer named Lydia Ko became the youngest woman in the world to reach the #1 ranking.  She was only 17 years old. Many people from here in New Zealand and overseas really admire her and think of her as a modern-day sporting hero. Who is your sporting hero? They can be a famous athlete or even a member of your family or community. It’s completely up to you.

On your blog tell us about your sporting hero. Who are they? Why are they a hero? Include a photo of them in your blog post.

My sporting hero is Lisa Carrington. She is an incredible rower, and last year she was awarded the prestigious  Lonsdale Cup for her amazing results in 2016! She spends hours training, and I think her commitment to her sport is inspiring.

Sporting Hero | Serena Williams

Who is she?

Serena Williams is a well known American tennis player who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and many Olympic gold medals.

Why is she, my hero?

What I found really inspiring was that she didn't care that she came from Compton or about her skin color, she just wanted to play tennis. So, that's was she did and she succeeds.

Bonus Activity | Shake it Off

In recent years, many New Zealanders have embraced a new form of exercise called Zumba©. It was developed by a man named Alberto Perez who lives in the country of Columbia. He created Zumba by bringing together many different dance styles including cumbia, mambo, hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, tango, merengue, and mambo.

Choose one of the dance styles mentioned above and click on the name to read more about it. Once you are done, post three interesting facts about the dance style on your blog. In which country did it originate? Who originally created it?  

|| Salsa ||

This type of dance was originally from Cuba, which then spread to the USA which became really popular.

> American soldiers were the first to notice the Salsa dance during the Cuban war of 1898.

> Cuba's Salsa is only the modern style of the dance, but its origin can be brought back to many other lands and parts of our history.

> Many Jazz musicians started visiting Cuba to incorporate their Latin styles into their performances.