Co-curricular - Junior Sport Stage 3
This weekend the Junior School will compete in Round 5 of the Summer season. At its completion, this will leave one round remaining for Term 1 and the Summer season will officially end on Saturday 16 March. After this time, there will be no further games or training for Summer sports until we recommence in Term 4.
While on the topic of training, there has been an increase in the number of boys being collected late after training. On some days, boys are still at the College some 30 minutes after training has concluded. As we move towards Winter and the daylight hours get shorter, I would like to see this trend decreasing. After 5:00 PM, there are very few staff remaining at the College, and it is not safe for the boys to be waiting by themselves. I do appreciate that there are many factors to consider for families when collecting their son(s) from the College, however boys need to be collected as close to the end of training as possible.
As we approach the Winter season, there are often questions about the co-curricular commitments of the boys and what is required of them. Unfortunately, there are some misunderstandings that need to be addressed. One of note is the idea that Winter sport is compulsory while Summer is not. In fact, neither season is compulsory, nor is sport.
It is expected that all boys are involved in the Co-curricular Program of the College. Their involvement is to be one that is equivalent to a Winter sport season, considering the ten weeks of games and two training sessions per week. Boys may cover these requirements through involvement in a range of activities deemed to be part of the Co-curricular Program. This includes sport and cultural pursuits. In the Junior School, most boys will complete their requirements through sport as we don’t have the same number of opportunities for boys outside of sport as the Senior School.
Where sport becomes compulsory for the boys is when they are involved in sporting clubs outside the College. If a student plays a sport outside the College, that we offer, e.g., If a student plays a sport outside the College that we offer, or if a boy plays football for a club, then they are expected to play that sport for the College. In doing so, it is understood that all College trainings, games and functions such as presentation nights are given precedence and come first. This is extended to rugby league, where boys would be expected to play rugby union for the College.
Once a student signs up for a sport or cultural activity, then the expectation becomes that they honour their commitment and participate fully in the season. Of course, any injury incurred by students would and will be taken into consideration. The full Co-curricular Policy can be located on the College Website under About – Policies – Student Policies – Co-curricular Activities.
The best of luck to all our teams playing this weekend.
John Locke
Head of Co-curricular Stage 3