From the Head of Sport

Sport at Blue Mountains Grammar is not all about ISA. This week we have students who have entered in the NSWCIS Golf trials, the Arndell Interschool Equestrian Carnival and the Thredbo Interschool Mountain Biking Challenge.

Are you involved in a sport that is not played at ISA? Let me know so that I can find a school pathway for you to compete. If you are playing outside of school let the school know so that we can celebrate your successes.

This weekend we have Semi-Finals for Tennis, Basketball and Touch Football. We wish all our teams the very best. Come along and support our teams in your blue and gold.

Congratulations - Basketball

Last week five students from BMGS attended the ISA Basketball trials. This was a long and hard day for all our players, competing with some of the best players in the state.

Congratulations to Eric Downes who was selected in the ISA Firsts team and Emily Weber who was chosen as reserve for the First Girls team. Well done to both of you and we look forward to hearing of your experiences as part of the ISA Basketball program.

Congratulations - Triathlon

Last week BMGS sent two senior teams to the 2024 NSW All Schools Triathlon. Due to poor water quality this had to be changed to a Duathlon, with our swimmers also doing a run leg. The boys' team of James Reynolds, Connor Secker and Otto Merry were placed 30/49 schools and our girls' team of Tarana Stubenrauch, Amelie Hugo and Hannah Brown-Robbins were placed 26/54 schools. These were both great achievements for our athletes. I am looking forward to more team involvement in this event in 2025.

ISA Swimming Carnival

The ISA Swimming Carnival will be held on 13th March at SOPAC. Any students who qualify are expected to attend as part of the BMGS Swimming team. BMGS swimming caps are to be worn and can be purchased from the Uniform shop. The team list will be going up on the sports noticeboard in the next week.

Winter Sport

Trials for winter sport will be held in Weeks 7 and 8. Please ensure that you are watching the screens so that you do not miss your trials.

Australian Schools Basketball

This week we will be running trials for students interested in attending the Australian Schools Basketball Championships. Please note that the approximate cost of this event is $1,200 per student and runs for a week in Week 8 Term 4. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

Match Fixtures Saturday, 2nd March

Mrs Megan Harris

Head of Sport

Match Reports - Basketball

24/02/2024 Junior A Girls' Basketball

The girls had a tough game as the other team were so much taller then us. But the girls still worked really hard and executed what they needed to do. They did manage to reduce the difference to only 10 points but they couldn’t hold on and the other team did manage to increase their lead. 

24/02/2024 Junior B Girls' Basketball

The Junior B’s game was very close the whole game. The girls did a great job once it was tied near the end of the game to get steals and convert them into to points to win us the game. They are now going into to the Semi Finals this weekend.

24/02/2024 U13’s Boys' Basketball 

The U13’s last game of the season was a disappointing, yet inspiring, loss. St Augustine represents both a bigger school and literally bigger Year 7 boys. BMGS showed up nice and early. The game started as a close contest, but our team struggled to convert shots and began to fall prey to a well-executed pressure defence. The score quickly blew out, with the visitors having a double-digit lead to our nil score into the first half.  By the end of the first half and through to the end of the match, BMGS played hard with some excellent and memorable moments. Deep shots, excellent passes, great team defence, smaller players pulling down offensive boards from the 6ft 5 opposition. The score began to look more respectable. Our boys played well and in the right spirits, while the Augie’s boys outplayed and out-muscled us, but were sportsmanlike and respectful. The BMGS U13's have had an enjoyable season with marked improvements and many excellent moments to celebrate.

The final score was: BMGS – 20, St Augustine 50.

It's been a pleasure to coach these boys, and I look forward to their basketball futures.

Mr Dillon Hunter

24/02/2024 15 Boys' Basketball

The 15 Boys played a tough game against St. Augustine’s last Saturday. In their last game of the season the boys demonstrated how far they have they have come from the beginning of the season. The players handle the defensive pressure better than when previously encountered. They worked together as a team and had fun whilst doing so. 

24/02/2024 1sts Boys' Basketball

The Firsts boys played a very competitive game against St Augustine’s on Saturday. Coming away with a fantastic win. It wasn’t the way we had planned to finish the season, but was nice to finish on a positive note. The boys played great team basketball, believing in each other and passing the ball to where it needed to be for the best shot for the team. 

Defensive intensity remained high throughout the game which help the boys get the win they were playing so hard for. It was so good to see how far this group have come over the past few years. This group demonstrated exactly what they are capable of in the last game of the season. This was unfortunately the end of a few players basketball career at BMGS. However, I am so proud of them and the dedication and leadership they have shown this year. 

Match Reports - Tennis

Round 9 

As ISA Summer Tennis only has seven teams this year, the structure is a little different to other competitions. On Saturday 17th February, Round 9 was played in Orange.

Semi Final 1: Kinross Odds (1st) vs BMGS Evens (4th), 

Semi Final 2: SASC (2nd) vs Kinross Evens (3rd) and 

Wild Card: BMGS Odds (6th) vs Stannies Odds.

Having had the Swimming Carnival on Friday, many were a little tired and some a little sunburnt, so it was very pleasing to see everyone’s commitment to the team. It started off cool in the morning when they were playing doubles, but it quickly warmed up to be quite hot when they were playing the singles. 

The Evens team found the going tough playing against the top ranked team from Kinross. Congratulations to Laurits and Raph who managed one set in their doubles and again to Laurits, who had a convincing win in his singles. A notable mention must be made of Alex who fought valiantly in his singles match in the hottest part of the day.  BMGS Evens team lost 16 sets to 3.

For the Odds team, Neil, Jed, Hugo H, Hugo L and Noah all had wins in their singles matches. Hugo Lewczak has been consistent in his singles matches, winning every match that he has played this season. In the doubles, Neil and Alex were unlucky losing 7-5 in the match tie-break, whereas Hugo L and Noah had a convincing win in their doubles. It has been pleasing to see how much Noah has improved from last season. Overall, the BMGS Odds team won 13 sets to 7. 

Round 10 was scheduled to be played in Springwood with the following games:

Final: Kinross Odds versus SASC for 1st and 2nd, 

Kinross Evens versus BMGS Evens for 3rd and 4th, and 

Stannies Evens versus BMGS Odds for 5th and 6th. 

Unfortunately, the weather in Springwood made the courts too wet and we had to cancel our games. However, the matches between Kinross Odds and SASC took place in Bathurst. It was a close final with both teams tied at 10 sets all. Scots All Saints came away with the win 58 games to 52, showing the importance of trying to win each point and each game. 

For the next two weeks, we have the Doubles Championships in Bathurst and Singles Championships in Orange. 

Mrs Catherine Van Gelderen

MIC Tennis