A pre-season competition on today for co-educational secondary schools is the entree to the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Secondary Schools Competition in May.

The new co-ed initiative came from an idea floated by Jamie Davis from Otumoetai College, who believed the co-educational schools should have additional rugby opportunities, such as are available to Tauranga Boys' College and Rotorua Boys' High.

Five Western Bay Schools will be joined by Kawerau College in the pre-season competition that has come from this idea.

While inter-school pride will be at stake, the tournament gives the school coaches the opportunity to try out and bed down team selections before the BOPRU Secondary Schools competitions starts in term two.

Today the six schools play two games apiece of 20 minutes each way at Otumoetai College.

On Tuesday, all six sides return to Otumoetai College for the crossover playoffs.

The climax to the second day will be the BOP Co-Educational Rugby Championship, which will see the winners from the two pools of play meet in a title decider.

Preceding the grand final will be the playoff for fifth place followed by the third place decider.

The finals day will be 30 minutes each-way encounters.

Pool one consists of hosts Otumoetai College, along with Te Puke High School and Kawerau College.

Pool two matches up the two Western BOP Christian schools of Bethlehem and Aquinas Colleges, along with Mount Maunganui College.

BOP Co-Educational Rugby Competition

Day One Saturday 9 April 2011 at Otumoetai College

Pool One: Otumoetai College, Te Puke HS, Kawerau College.

Pool Two: Mount Maunganui College, Bethlehem College, Aquinas College.

Draw

10am: Te Puke v Kawerau

11am: Bethlehem v Aquinas

12pm: Otumoetai v Te Puke

1pm: Mount Maunganui v Bethlehem

2pm: Kawerau v Otumoetai

3pm: Mount v Aquinas

Day Two at Otumoetai College

Playoffs for Final Finishing Positions