Senior School Sport &
Co-curricular
Tennis
Anabelle van Wyk, Captain of Tennis
Week 5
Playing in Bathurst last weekend, the KWS Evens competed against St Stanislaus College Evens, while the KWS Odds played against Scots All Saints College Evens. The Evens team excelled, with all players winning their singles matches, and a strong overall win of 17 sets to Stannies’ 2 sets. Congratulations to James Ashton, Lachlan Watts and Xavier Todd for winning their matches 4-0, 4-0.
The Odds team played some challenging matches with several tiebreakers. Despite both schools being incredibly close throughout the day, Kinross came away with a win of 11 sets to 8 sets. The Odds team consisted of Charlie Hall, Anabelle van Wyk, Ashton Quinn-Woonton, Milli Mackay, Lucy Baldwinson and Mackenzie Mitchell. A special shoutout to Mackenzie for stepping up on short notice and winning her singles match convincingly with a score of 4-1, 4-1.
Week 6
On Saturday 23 November, Kinross Wolaroi hosted Round 5 of the ISA Competition in Orange. Our Evens team played SSC Evens and the KWS Odds team were up against the SASC Evens. The Evens team won 14 sets to 5 sets, consisting of James Ashton, Liam Vaira, Toby Gee, Lachlan Watts, Will Hoskins and Fergus Whittle. Special mention to Will Hoskins for winning his singles match 4-0, 4-0!
Similarly, the KWS Odds had a strong win against SASC Odds with a score of 17 sets to 2 sets. Congratulations to all of the doubles pairs for winning their matches, and to the team for winning 8 out of 9 matches on the day. Well done to our ISA team as we finish the first half of the season next weekend.
Rowing
It has been a huge fortnight for Kinross Wolaroi rowing, the squad tasted its first slice of competitive racing at the NSW All School Regatta. The inaugural event had over 1400 athletes competing from all over the State for the first major schools' regatta of the season.
With our preparation spanning back to mid-August the energy of the entire squad collectively was firing on all cylinders. Congratulations to all new Rowers on wearing the blue zootie for the first time, you did your school, family and the program proud!
Our Junior rowers performed bravely across all crews and excelled in the chaos. Shoutout to Xavier Zinga, Ash Robinson & Georgia Tancred and Paxton Buckerfield for taking out gold in the Year 9 School Double.
The Intermediates led from the front with a huge haul of gold medals in the Year 10 Quads (Boys 1st/Girls 1st/Girls 2nds 3rd), the Schoolgirl Year 10 Eight (winning by 21 seconds), and Rahni Jarick and Hamish Searle winning in their single sculls.
Senior racing was outstanding to watch. Schoolboys took out the Gold in the quad, Toby Buckland smashed the Year 11 Single Scull and Harry Dymock and the double of Archie Condon and Nick Tancred gained creditable Silvers in the Schoolboy Single scull and Schoolboy double respectively. One Senior boys' highlight of the weekend was seeing the formidable Schoolboy 3rd crew of Harper Shaw, Oscar Cleary, George Hunt and Jackson Davis (A.K.A Shawy, Knock, JD and Brick): outstanding racing Gents.
The schoolgirls kept the good times rolling with dominant wins in the Schoolgirl Four and School Quad.
Collectively Kinross Rowing as a squad excelled in the first showing of the season, winning the overall point score and ending the day with 14 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze.
The resilience and specifically the attention to detail towards training since the NSW All Schools has been excellent. Whilst the achievements of the regatta brought plenty of praise, it has been quickly quieted amongst the squad. Our 'next job' mentality remains the focus and it’s been terrific to get a vibe of this approach after our first regatta. Taking the hard approach and seeking to level up again has been the focus of this training block.
The next job is Sydney Girls' High School regatta this coming weekend. Internally there is plenty of pride to gain from this regatta, and the team is raring to go, and determined to send Term 4 off in the right way!
Best of luck to all of our sporting teams for their remaining fixtures in Term 4.
Basketball
Congratulations to our Captains of Basketball, Olivia Martin and Lincoln Robinson. They have shown their leadership qualities on and off the court and have been wonderful contributors to basketball at the school for many years.
Our basketballers have made an excellent start to the season. We have just under 200 students involved across a mix of competitive and social teams. As we approach the halfway point of the season, we are seeing excellent results and observing lots of smiles, camaraderie and team spirit on the court.
Our girls' 1sts are playing in the highly competitive Div 1 Women's Premier division. So far girls are sitting third on the ladder in a competition of seven teams. Our team has girls from Year 7 to Year 11 in it and they are working brilliantly under coach Gerald Power. The senior players in the team are seamlessly incorporating the younger players, placing trust and confidence in them. It is great to see such a range of ages come together so well, with teamwork and encouragement underpinning their success.
Our boys' 1sts have had a slower start to the season, just falling short in a couple of tight games. Also in a very strong competition of 10 teams in the Premier High School competition, our boys are determined to keep working hard at training to turn their close games into wins.
Leading the way amongst our other senior boys' teams are the KWS Jets who play in the Senior 2 competition. This team of Year 10 and Year 11 players are at the top of the ladder. Coached by Mr Norm Moore, the team is finding the net with regularity and scrambling well in defense. Oliver Wilson leads the scoring for the competition with 42 points. Our students fill the remaining top five scorers in the competition, these being: Hugh Williams, Finley Mason, Hamish Slack-Smith and Henry Martel.
Of our Junior boys' teams, the two blues are on fire and currently undefeated, with 3 wins and 2 nail biting draws. The boys are clearly loving their basketball on the court, and their spirit and encouragement of each other is fantastic to watch. Mr Orme-Smith has this group of Year 7 and Year 8 boys in a great place as we head to the mid-season break.
In Division 2 - High School Girls, the Magpies, made up of Year 9 girls, have a great streak going with 3 wins for their last 3 games. Coached by Ms Tanya Laffey, you can see how much the girl's enjoyment of the game and each other as team mates is contributing to their success on the court. Lots of talk, lots of encouragement, and lots of smiles.
The Wildcats are another team to highlight and are performing very strongly in Division 3. The Wildcats have had a few girls join them this year who have never played, and Year 11 student, Emily Turner, is doing a magnificent job providing expert coaching assistance to this team. The Wildcats sit second on the ladder, with only one loss so far. Their scrambling defense has been outstanding and their scoring ratio is improving week on week.
I would like to thank all players and coaching staff for the way in which they have played and trained this term. Let's continue with this momentum when we return next year.
Triathlon
On Saturday the Kinross Wolaroi Triathlon team did their Parkrun volunteering shift. This is something students do at the end of each term, to say thank you to other volunteers and show their support for the community. The students completed their cycling training first, to ensure they got their exercise in, and then it was off to encourage others, time participants, keep the music going and ensure everyone finished safely.
Merry Christmas to all from the triathlon team!
Mountain Biking
Sam Commins (left) represented Kinross Wolaroi at the Rocky Trail Academy, Interschools Competition on Friday 8 November. He was placed in 1st position for the majority of the day with his excellent riding skills. Sam finished the day in 2nd place, which was an outstanding effort. Tom Karrasch of Year 6 finished 15th in the Boys' Year 8 category, also a fantastic effort. A big congratulations to all students who represented the school.
Kinross Wolaroi Dance Program
This term we introduced the Kinross Wolaroi Dance Program to our Senior School as a new co-curricular offering, bringing energy, creativity, and movement to our school community. Open to students of all skill levels across Years 7-12, the program provides a welcoming space to develop dance technique, build strength, and foster a love for performance.
Each week, students participate in two focused sessions. On Tuesdays, the spotlight is on flexibility and strength training under the guidance of our dedicated Dance Captain, Phoebe Staniforth. On Thursdays, the program shifts focus as we welcome external instructor Lara Duncan, who brings a wealth of experience and passion for dance. Lara has introduced students to a variety of genres this term, hosting mini workshops in Hip Hop, Lyrical, and Contemporary dance styles while also teaching our students a beautiful lyrical routine (provided in the sneak peek video of our group).
What makes this program particularly special is its inclusivity, catering to students with diverse levels of dance experience. Whether just starting out or refining years of training, everyone is encouraged to join, learn, and grow together.
Looking ahead, we are eager to share the incredible progress our dancers have made. Future performances will provide the perfect opportunity for our school community to celebrate their hard work and dedication. We can’t wait to showcase the creativity and talent nurtured through this exciting program in the new year.
Touch Football
ISA Touch Round 3: Bathurst
The third round of the ISA touch competition saw the Kinross Wolaroi touch football teams travel to Bathurst where each would face the toughest in the competition so far. Up first was the mighty Barramundi Junior B team who played against SAS 7. All girls showed great teamwork and were able to get many meters up the field as a result of a great driving pattern. With a few middle-middle plays on the line and some excellent defense, the girls won the game 3 tries to 1. The second game was played against SAS 6 who would be the girls' toughest competition. Despite having already played a game and it being extremely hot, the girls started strong and attacked at a great pace. Special mentions go to Ingrid West and Maisie Hughes who successfully defended many tries on the line. Unfortunately, the Barramundis lost 5 tries to 1 however they should be extremely proud of their efforts throughout the game.
The Junior A team had a mixed game. Although they started fast, during the middle period of the game they found themselves stuck in a bit of a hole. After a great team talk from their Captain, Sienne Everson, the girls were back in the zone. Special mentions must go to Annabel Swift, Freya Mason, Ava Rosser and Greta Cunial for turning up the heat in attack and Lucy Campbell for keeping the defense on lock to close out the game. Finishing with a win 12 tries to 7, the Junior A team remains undefeated.
During the first half of the Inter A game, the SAS team jumped out to an early lead. After an encouraging half time team chat, the girls showed great spirit and resilience, going try for try with the opposition for the majority of the second half. Unfortunately, in the end the Inter A team were unable to arrest the early lead and lost 11 tries to 5.
The last round for the year will be a home game on Ex-Students Ovals. The Division 1 girls will be playing 3 games against SAS, Redlands and Oakhill, with games starting from 10am. The Inter A team will be playing two games against Redlands and Oakhill from 10:50am. Both Junior teams will have one game each against Redlands. Best of luck to the girls for the weekend ahead and it would be great to see you all down to support them for our last competition for the year!
Swimming
On Sunday 25 members of the Kinross Wolaroi Swim Team compete in Parkes at their Annual meet. This meet served a twofold purpose; firstly, it was a great development opportunity for our Juniors, gaining some much needed race experience as we head into the School carnival season in 2025. Secondly, it proved a fantastic platform for our State swimmers to practice their respective race plans & skills before State championships begin in under two weeks. All swimmers performed with outstanding technique and attitude. Congratulations to all who attended.
On Tuesday evening we held our third junior race night of a series of four. These evenings are designed for maximum race engagement for our Junior team, in a safe, fast-paced environment. Our most recent race night focused on breaststroke, with technique and race skills a focus - specifically the pullout and touch turn. This skills clinic was followed up with a range or races and relays to round out the evening.
Remember our final Race night will be on Tuesday 3 December. Come along for some Christmas fun!
A shout out must go to our former swimming captain, Sienna Whalan, for her expert tips on breaststroke and what she thinks about when she is behind the blocks in a race. It is phenomenal to see our Seniors giving back to the Kinross Wolaroi swimming program.
Finally, from the Learn to Swim side, we have just wrapped up our Junior School intensive swim program. These lessons were a huge success, culminating in a fun & engaging aquatic safety clinic for our Year 1 and Kindergarten students. Thanks must go to Iain Jones for organising engaging lessons covering safety strokes, safe entry/exit, no goggle swimming and (the fan favourite) using life jackets.
We are currently assessing students and any resulting movements between classes will be made within the fortnight. If you would like to request changes to your lesson time or day, or know of anyone looking for lessons, do not hesitate to be in contact. Now is the perfect time to sign up for our January intensives or for Term 1, 2025. A reminder that lessons and squads run through until 20 December.
Best of luck to our State team who begin competition on 6 December. These students have done an exemplary job throughout a busy Term 4, maintaining seven or eight sessions a week throughout exams. As a result, we are seeing an increase in work capacity, not only in the water but also in the gym as they transition to their 'power' phase in readiness for this major meet. Best of luck to all.
Brandon Lawrence
Head of Swimming