Sports news

2020 Senior School sports wrap-up

As I write the final Senior School sports wrap for the year, I can’t help but reflect on 2020 and all the interesting, crazy, unreal, challenging and sometimes scary times we experienced.  

In terms of sport, we were lucky to essentially bookend the year with several carnivals and after-school sport in Term 1, before returning 'back to normal' in Terms 3 and 4. 

With that said, however, 'normal' nowadays includes spectator social distancing, abundant use of smelly hand sanitisers, attendance sheets and, of course, the player-favourite 'elbow bump' after games.    

I would like to thank all the students, teachers and especially parents for their understanding, patience and support of our sports throughout the year.  I hope everyone still enjoyed what options we had on offer.  

Fingers crossed 2021 is back to normal and we are able to have a full year of fun, sports and carnivals - especially athletics carnivals, since I’ve only managed to hold one in the three years I’ve been at St Mary’s College!  

Term 4 was surprisingly busy with the following sports rosters taking place. 

Year 7/8 AFL

Even though 2020 had its fair share of not-so-great moments, we did have one exciting (and history making!) sporting achievement and that was fielding our first-ever St Mary’s College Year 7/8 AFL team. 

Interest was incredible, with more than 24 keen players taking the field, which just goes to show how fast AFL is growing amongst younger females.  

Well done to all the players and coach, Mark Anning on a great season, and we look forward to seeing you back in action in 2021. 

Mark has provided the below blurb with his thoughts on the season: 

'It was a fantastic turn out of girls who registered to play for the St Mary's College 7/8 Football team in its inaugural season. It was a bit weird to be playing football so late in the year, but we were grateful for the opportunity.  

We had a good bunch of girls that played, I think there were three or four who have never played before and who wanted to have a go and that was great to see. 

The girls all came together for the first game against Friends and got the win by six points and played really well. In Round 3 we got a win over Sacred Heart by 42 points and in Round 4 we went down to ladder leaders Fahan by nine points in a very even and hard fought game.  

In Round 5 we got back on the winner's board by defeating Collegiate Red by 46 points and then played a finals game against Collegiate White, where we won by forfeit. 

Overall finishing third on the ladder was a good result for the girls.  

I would like to thank Mia Blignaut and St Mary's College for allowing me the opportunity to coach the girls. It was a great experience and I will be looking forward to seeing how they go next year.'

Mark Anning

Inaugural Year 7/8 AFL Coach

State High School Basketball Championships

Both our Year 7/8 and 9/10 Division 1 teams qualified for the State Basketball Championships, which took place in Launceston on 21 and 22 November. After the Saturday’s round robin games against some very strong North West schools, both teams qualified for the 3rd versus 4th finals against St Patrick’s College.  

Well done to coaches, Kylie Anderson, Adrian Broomhall (Year 7/8 team) and Ashley Banks (Year 9/10 team), along with the players on finishing third overall! Thank you also to the amazing parents who helped out with scoring, cheering, feeding/hydrating and general team support over the weekend. 

Badminton  

This year the Senior School badminton roster moved to Term 4 and we had a great response finishing up with four teams across the Years 7-10 rosters. 

The girls really enjoyed the experienced and improved every week, with most teams racking up a couple of wins.  I imagine the Year 7/8 SMC Blue versus SMC Green game in Round 4 would have been heaps of fun. 

Thank you to all the parents who supported the teams throughout the course of the roster. Bring on 2021!  

Rugby 7s  

After completing a rugby unit in Year 9 PE and learning all about the correct tackling, passing and line out skills - including the legendary 'prawn' manoeuvre, we had 12 very keen students eager to play in the Schools Rugby 7s roster in November.  

Thank you to alumna and avid senior club rugby player, Lydia Attrill (class of 2018), who took on a coaching and mentoring role with the team and helped the girls improve their skills every week, while still having heaps of fun.  

Exciting 2021 sports news!  

Sports Prefects announcements

Congratulations to Lilian Ndimanyi and Amelia Roberts who have been appointed as our 2021 Sports Prefects!  

Both students have represented St Mary’s College in a range of sports since Year 7, including rowing, basketball, athletics, AFL, soccer and cross country. Talk about great all-rounders?!  

Lily and Amelia are wonderful role models and have always represented the College with humility, passion and pride. 

I look forward to working with them next year in promoting all of our sports on offer and encouraging students to get involved.  

Term 1 sport options and roster changes

As of 2021 there will be a number of changes to when certain sports and grades will be played. Southern SATIS delegates made these changes in order to better align with the Northern SATIS rosters, especially in relation to when the state finals are played.  

The changes mostly affect 1st and 2nd grade sports and include:  

1st/2nd Grade Basketball – moved to Term 1

1st/2nd Grade Netball – moved to Term 3

1st Grade Soccer – moved to Term 3

Year 7/8 AFL – moved to Term 2

Year 7-10 Cricket – moved to Term 4

All the information regarding Term 1 sports and carnivals can be found in the below tables:  

Term 1 after-school sport

Term 1 carnivals

Keen to play a Term 1 sport? Why not have a chat to your friends and get a team together!  

Simply click on the on the link below and complete the registration form. 

2021 Term 1 Sport Registrations - SENIOR SCHOOL

Entries will close on Friday 5 February 2021, so please make sure you get your registration in before that so you don’t miss out!  

2021 Night Swim Carnival  

Just a reminder to all Year 7 to 12 students that the Night Swim Carnival will be held on Wednesday 17 February at the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre from 7.00pm-9.00pm.  

Anyone keen to try out for the 2021 St Mary’s College Swim Team will need to come and trial at this meet.  

If you would like to attend, please complete the below registration form and jot down which events you will be doing. We have the 50m Freestyle, Backstroke, Butterfly and Breaststroke events.  

2021 Night Swim Carnival Entry Form  

But wait - there's more! We will offer three FREE training sessions for any student who would like to improve or work on their swimming prior to the Night Swim Carnival.  

Sessions are:  

We will be providing a bus back to school at 8.15am so parents do not need to worry about transport after training.  

If you have any questions regarding Term 1 sports or the Night Swim Carnival, please flick me an email at mblignaut@smc.tas.edu.au.  

I will send another reminder about registration in the New Year for those who forget about all things sport at St Mary’s College the moment they leave the school grounds this afternoon. 

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and a relaxing break, and I will see you all in 2021! 

Mia Blignaut  

Sports Coordinator - Senior School