Ask Us Anything

We recently launched a new fortnightly segment here in our newsletter and on our socials where YOU get to ask the questions and our leadership and teaching team provide the answers.

No question is too small or too big. Whether you’re curious about learning pathways, co-curricular programs, wellbeing support or what life is really like at St Joes – this is your chance to hear it straight from the source.

This fortnight's Ask Us Anything parent question is a great one:

"I’m curious as to how school sports teams are selected to represent the school?"

Check out our full response below as well as this short video with Head of Sport Justin Cantwell.

We’re proud of our strong sporting culture at SJC and the many opportunities our students have to represent the College across a wide range of sports and competitions. Our aim is always to balance participation with performance – encouraging as many students as possible to get involved, while also recognising and supporting those who wish to compete at a higher level.

When selecting school teams, trials are open to all eligible students and are advertised through Compass and morning bulletins. Teams are chosen based on a range of criteria including skill level, fitness, attitude, teamwork and behaviour – and every effort is made to ensure the process is fair, transparent and reflective of our College values of Strength and Kindliness.

Selection decisions are made by a panel that includes the coach, Head of Sport and supporting PE staff, and selections are made in line with our Sporting Team Selection Guidelines (www.sje.vic.edu.au/sports-program) and with careful consideration of performance and what’s best for the College as a whole.

Students may be selected across multiple sports, which we view as a positive, as it enhances the overall strength of our teams.

This year, we added extra teams to 8 School Sport Victoria (SSV) sports, providing representative opportunities to an additional 150 students. In total, we had 68 sporting teams participate through the SSV structure in 2025, representing our College with pride and passion.

We remain committed to providing as many participation opportunities as possible by fielding second teams where permitted by SSV. These team numbers don’t include our in-house sporting events such as our whole school swimming and athletics carnivals and lunch-time sporting competitions, where many more students have the chance to participate in sport.

In 2026, we have introduced Lead Coaches for all school sports, allowing us to create an even greater scope of sports on offer at SJC to ensure we capture all of the amazing athletes in our midst. Please keep an eye out for the announcement of these coaches who will be running sessions for ALL players, not only those selected in teams.

📩 Got a question of your own? Submit it here: