Co-curricular - Junior Sport Stage 3
Term 2 - Week 1
I hope that everyone has had a restful and relaxing Term 1 break. It was a very busy first term, with 11 weeks of learning, sport trials, the Summer season, and Cross Country Carnival. Not to mention the IPSHA and CIS sport trials.
While many of us started the holidays on Friday afternoon, 11 April, a small group of boys from the Junior School travelled north to represent the College in two sport tours. One group of rugby players headed to Armidale for the annual TAS (The Armidale School) Rugby Carnival, the other group of footballers headed to Brisbane for the annual EREA Football Tournament.
The Armidale Rugby Tour is a challenging event, where teams from all around Australia come together to compete and challenge themselves. This year, on the back of the success of 2024, the St Patrick’s boys were placed in Division 2. This pool placed us against representative rugby teams from along the east coast. Our boys performed strongly and represented the College with aplomb, continuing our legacy as a College and forging our good name forward. Ultimately, the boys won four out of five games, placing them at the top of Division 2. This is the second win in a row for our Rugby Squad, no easy feat when you consider the calibre of the opposition.
The most coveted award of the Rugby Carnival is the “Spirit of Rugby Award.” This award is voted for by all the teams in the competition and is awarded to the team that best lives the ideals of the carnival and plays rugby fairly throughout the carnival. I am very proud to say that this year the boys from St Patrick’s College were voted as the winners of this most prestigious award! This is the first time that we have won this award. When considering all of this, 2025 would have to be the most successful year we have had at Armidale. Congratulations must go to all our boys and the staff that trained and accompanied them on the trip. Thank you to Mrs Sarah Tatola, Mr Macquire Tatola, Mr Matthew Pasternatsky and Mr Antonio Morris.
Straight after the conclusion of the TAS Rugby Carnival our second group of College representatives headed to Brisbane for the EREA Football Tournament. The Junior School has a very short, but proud tradition in Brisbane, having only competed three times and each time winning the Year 6 competition. The expectations of the boys were high, however untold challenges awaited.
For the first time at the carnival, we experienced rain throughout the first day of competition. While the grounds at Nudgee College drained well, the surface remained slippery and provided added challenges. The boys performed strongly over the course of the two days. Good results would result in four games being played on the second day, the fourth being the final. Happily, the SPC boys got to the fourth game and in a dominate performance came away with a win and the fourth winner’s trophy in a row. Another outstanding performance by our Junior School athletes.
A few reminders for the start of the Winter season:
All training begins this week as per the schedule
The training schedule has been updated to reflect changes
Round 1 starts this Saturday 3 May
All safety equipment must be worn for training and games (mouth guards, shin pads)
Boys that train of an afternoon offsite, namely Airey Park, should be collected at the conclusion of their training from the ground. Airey Park is located on Bates Street, Homebush. Boys who have not been collected 10 minutes after the session’s conclusion, will be walked back to the College for pick up.
“I may win, and I may lose, but I will never be defeated.” Emmit Smith
John Locke
Head of Co-curricular - Stage 3