Welcome to 2025

Hello to all and welcome back to the 2025 school year. It has been great seeing our students return and we are busily getting prepared for sport in Term 1. The morning notices will be full of sport information (key dates, meeting times etc) over the coming days.

In January, our annual rowing camps were held for Junior, Intermediate and Senior crews. I would like to thank Rebecca Gribble and David O’Doherty, and coaches for all their effort and organisation in what is a huge commitment. The crews have done a mountain of work and have already competed in regattas in the lead up to the Head of the Lake.

In addition, a group of our cricketers ventured across Bass Straight for the first time since 2019 to play St Virgil’s Hobart and St Patrick’s College Launceston.

Read more about both rowing and cricket further on!

Term 1 Sport

Term 1 BAS sport forms will be sent out early next week by Mr Simon Dwyer. Check your email for sign up opportunities, you just need to click on the link and fill out the form to choose your preferred sport.

Students need to ensure that they listen to the morning messages for information about meetings for their particular sport/team. Always communicate with your coaches if you are unavailable or for general inquiries. Students can communicate with their coach via email or MS Teams. A list of coaches and managers for each team will be communicated shortly.

There are plenty of opportunities for all year levels and abilities. The Junior House Sport in particular is a great way for Year 7’s to meet new friends, get to know their teachers and participate in a sport they may never have played before or they can choose a sport that they participate in every week.

TERM 1
SPORT	DAY
Junior Baseball	Wed
Intermediate Tennis	Tue
Senior Tennis (1st's & 2nd's)	Fri
Senior Volleyball	Wed
1st XI Cricket (ACC)	Weds
1st XI BAS Cricket	Fri
2nd XI Cricket	Thur
Junior Cricket (Yr 7 & 8) Dual pitch	Tues
Junior Cricket (Yr 7& 8) Dual pitch	Tues
Junior Cricket (Yr 7 & 8) Dual pitch	Tues
SPC House Soccer	Wed
Lawn Bowls	Mon
Rowing	Varies
Swimming Squad/BAS Swimming	Tues
Senior Golf (BAS Championships, AGSV day)	Varies
ACC Swimming	Various
ACC Athletics	Various

Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC)

In 2024 we had our second season in the strong Melbourne-based ACC competition with some terrific results. We will have the opportunity to participate in the Championships (Athletics, Swimming & Cross Country) and tournaments and events (Badminton, Golf, Lawn Bowls, Chess, Debating, Music and Drama). We are also participating in the Senior 35 Over competition which starts next week. Thanks to Steve Biggin for his expert coaching and organisation. Our first whole school competition will be the ACC Athletics that will be in Week 5 on 2 February.

Swimming

The SPC Swimming Carnival will be held on Thursday, 6 March at the Eureka Pool. The Junior School carnival and will commence at 9:30am with the Middle & Senior School commencing at 11am. In preparation for this, the House Assembly sign-ups will be held on Tuesday, 11 February, where students will be able to sign up for events.

We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete against the ACC Schools in the ACC Swimming Championships on Wednesday, 26 March at MSAC (10am-2pm). This will be our second time attending this event and we look forward to seeing how we go against the ACC schools from Melbourne and Geelong.

The BAS Swimming Twilight Carnival will be held on Wednesday, 18 March at the Ballarat Aquatic Centre. Any inquiries regarding swimming please do not hesitate to contact Louise Macquire (Coordinator of Swimming) or myself.

Athletics

The SPC Athletics Carnival will be held earlier this year - on Monday, 17 February - at the College. The House Assembly sign-ups will be on Tuesday, 5 February.

We are looking forward to the opportunity to compete against the ACC Schools in the ACC Athletics Championships coming up soon on Thursday, 27 February.

The BAS Athletics Carnival will be held at Llanberris on Tuesday, 6 May.

Athletics inquiries can be directed to myself.

Communication

The best form of communication we have with parent/guardians is via the Parent Access Module (PAM). Students require permission to participate in all sport. Parent/guardians will receive the information through a PAM activity permission. Please ensure that you read the information prior to giving permission and that you also talk to students about the information.

The daily messages are one of the best ways we can distribute information to students about sports that are on offer and where sign up meetings will be held. Students should check the daily messages regularly.

Once students have signed up for a sport, we will be adding them into a MS Teams group where they can communicate directly with their coach. Students must communicate with their coach if they are unavailable for a match so we can find a replacement to ensure we have a full team for each match.

If students are unsure of how to sign up for a sport or want more information, they can visit sports staff in the gymnasium.

SPC Sport Uniform

All sport uniforms can be purchased at Dobsons Uniform Shop, located in Mair St, Ballarat. Students need to ensure they are in the correct uniform to participate in Sport. We have a fantastic uniform, and students should wear the Green, White and Blue with pride.

The general sport uniform is the navy blue polo top, navy shorts and white socks. Certain sports will require very specific clothing e.g. 1st XI Cricketers require SPC Whites, SPC cricket shirt and SPC cricket cap. Students should check with their coach as to what is required. Also remember to wear sunscreen at all times.

I wish all students and coaches the best in 2025. Always play the game in the right spirit, wear the correct uniform and respect the facilities, home and away. St Patrick’s College is steeped in sporting tradition and 2024 was an historic year for Sport at SPC.

Please do not hesitate to contact me (jlappin@stpats.vic.edu.au) or our Sports Administrator Mr Simon Dwyer (sdwyer@stpats.vic.edu.au) at the College with any questions.

Rowing - Barwon Regatta

After a very successful camp on Lake Wendouree our Senior crews and Under 17 quad scull made the trip down to Geelong for the Barwon Regatta. Now one of the largest regattas on the racing calendar, almost 2000 athletes took to the river to race over Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday saw all our Senior crews race in either the Under 19 or Under 21 events as well as Schoolboy Divisions 1-3. Starting with our First Crew who, after winner their heat, progressed to the Under 21 final placing third behind Melbourne University and Clarendon’s firsts.

Our Seconds crew were successful in their heat of the Under 19s and progressed through to the final. In a great display of racing all crews finished within two seconds of each other, with the Damascus College firsts just beating our seconds crew by 0.94s.

Onto the Schoolboy races starting with Division 3 contested by our thirds, fourths and fifths. Our 4th an 5th crews progressed to the B-final where they finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Our 3rds won their heat to progress to the A-final where the narrowly placed 2nd behind Clarendon by 2s.

In Division 2 our 2nds won their heat commandingly to progress to the A-final where they secured victory by 5s over Ballarat Grammar.

In Division 1 our 1sts also won their heat progressing onto the A-final against an all- Ballarat field of Clarendon, Grammar and Damascus College. Our boys came in second behind Clarendon, kicking over another great season of racing between to two crews.

On Sunday, our Senior 1sts and 2nds were joined by our Under 17 quad for racing in the Club Grade events. First up was the quad in the Under 17 coxed quad in which our boys won by a commanding 20 seconds. They then went on to race the A grade men’s quad, finishing second to the Wendouree-Ballarat crew which included Old Boys Angus Murfett and William Gilbert. Our Senior boys 1sts and 2nds would also go on to win the A grade men’s four and B grade men’s four respectively.

Congratulations and thank you to all the boys and coaches involved over the weekend, and a special thankyou to the wonderful parent group for their continued support.

The program now turns its attention to this weekend’s Wendouree-Ballarat Regatta, where our senior crews return to the full 2000m race distance and our Yr 10 1st and 2nd quads make their debut over the Olympic distance. All our yr 10 and 9 crews also race over 1000m on Sunday afternoon. Good luck boys!

David O'Doherty, Rowing Co-ordinator

2025 Tasmania Cricket Trip

For the first time since 2019 we ventured across Bass Straight for the 2025 Tasmania cricket trip to play St Virgil’s Hobart and St Patrick’s College Launceston.

With a 14-player squad of Year 12 to Year 8 boys, there was going to be plenty of opportunities for development on the trip.

First match on the schedule was the Brother Breech Cup at St Patrick’s College Launceston, a 100-over match designed to test the patience and skill of both sides. Launceston won the toss and elected to bat on a day that was a little overcast with forecasted showers. As the weather held off we were able to have a full day of cricket. The boys bowled and fielded well to have them all out for 206 in the 63rd over. Skipper Lincoln Koliba, Ethan Bartlett, Armi Wakefield and Jimmy Duxson all claimed two wickets, whilst Will Steenhuis claimed one. Apart from two players who scored half centuries, the rest of their side was dismissed for less than 16 runs.

The boys were quite confident they could chase down this total, but they were to finish the day in significant trouble at 6/64. The second day did not bring about any changes in fortune as we were bowled out for 85 in the morning. Therefore, SPC Launceston retained the Brother Breech Cup for another year.

It was then decided to play a 30-over match to give the boys more cricket. The boys were again batting first and showed considerable improvement. Although no one went on to make a big score, we did have a number of batsmen settling in. We finished our 30 overs at 9/129, with a number of the younger players getting an opportunity.

In response, Launceston lost an early wicket before they settled and put on a 95-run partnership. Four quick wickets had them at 5/125, before they eventually finished on 6/155 after the 30 overs. SPC Launceston were great hosts and we look forward to them travelling to Ballarat in 2026, where we hope to retain the Brother Breech Cup.

In the evening the boys ventured out to University of Tasmania stadium to watch the Under 17 National Championship’s match Queensland defeat Victoria Metro in a thrilling encounter.

On Wednesday, we left Launceston and headed down to Hobart to play St Virgil’s in a T20 match. The match was played at the picturesque Cornelian Bay. Batting first the boys finally found their groove. Harry Scaradmaglia and Zac Symons batted solidly through the first few overs to lay a great base for some big hitting from Linc, Armi Wakefield and Jimmy Duxson, as we finished with 3/153 from our 20 overs.

In response, we were able to claim a couple of early wickets, to have them 3/34 and then 4/59. Before some solid partnerships. Although they were always well behind in the required rate there was always a chance. With 40 required from the last two overs we were not concerned. But when their big hitting Year 8 started to fire we were in trouble as they reduced the total required to 12 from three balls, a dot ball relieved, some pressure. But when the next ball went for the third six of the over, we were feeling the pressure; they required six off the final ball to win. A wicket off the final ball had us secure a five-run victory.

On Thursday our last day, we travelled to The Hutchins School to play St Virgil’s for the Terry Blizzard Trophy. For the third game in a row, we batted first. We again had a great opening partnership, which is fundamental to building a decent score. Linc batted superbly as he raced to 90 from only 68 balls, hitting four sixes and 10 fours. Jimmy Duxson, provided steady support as he also made a half century before being dismissed for 55. Lachy McPhan, 44 continued his great form as we finished on all out of the final ball for 241.

In response, St Virgil’s lost a number of early wickets and slumped to 5/59. An 80-run partnership steadied their innings, but they were again significantly behind the required run rate. Lachy McPhan proved very effective with the ball and claimed five wickets as St Virgil’s slumped to 9/174. Unfortunately, the match had to finish early due to another match and we were awarded the victory and the Terry Blizzard trophy.

It was a pleasure to take this group of boys to Tasmania and see the teamwork and support they offered each other. It was pleasing to see a number of the senior boys supporting the younger members of the group. Special thanks to Mr Andrew Chamings for his support on the trip. It was great to see so much development from all of the boys on the trip.

Steve Biggin, Director of Cricket

Performing Arts

Ms Monique Allen, Head of Drama