Senior School Sport
1st XI EREA Cup Winners
- Welcome Back to Term 2
- Athletics
- Cricket
- Cross Country
- Football
- Rugby
- ISA Tennis
Welcome Back to Term 2
Welcome back to Term 2 and the start of the Winter Season proper. Over the break we had teams touring and camps running in both rugby and football. My thanks go to the staff and students who gave up holiday time to participate in these events. Detailed reports can be found in each sport section.
As we enter the competition season please ensure that your sons are correctly equipped for their sports. All uniform items can be purchased at the College Uniform Shop.
Can you also reinforce with the boys the ISA Code of Conduct below. In addition please familiarise yourselves with the Code of Conduct pertaining to Spectators and Coaches which are part of the ISA document.
The College 'Risk Warning' for Sport, that we are required to publish, can also be found below.
Mr M Stearn - Senior Sportsmaster
Athletics
We wish Year 11 student Tom Hunt all the very best as he heads off to the Oceania Melanesian Championships in Vanuatu next week to represent Australia in in the Under 18 400 metre hurdles. Read more in the article below:
Mr M Stearn - Senior Sportsmaster
Cricket
Cricket Presentation Night – Thursday 10th May 2018
The 2017/18 Season Cricket Presentation Night is being held on Thursday 10 May 2018 (Week 2 of this term) in the Chatswood Gym starting at 6:30pm. This is an excellent opportunity to recognise all players, coaches and managers for a fine season. This is a compulsory event for all players who come dressed in College Winter Uniform.
Cricket Annual General Meeting – Monday 21st May 2018
The SPX Cricket Annual General Meeting is being held on Monday 21st May 2018 (Monday of Week 4 this term) in the Chatswood RSL Library Meeting Room from 7.00pm. All are welcome to take this opportunity to assist in making Cricket even better at the College.
Mr D Reay - Cricket Convenor
Cross Country
As from Monday 7th May training is available at Beauchamp Oval on Mondays and Fridays at 7.30am leading up to the ISA Cross Country.
Runners will run at their own pace and decide how far and for how long. Their progress will be recorded and Personal Bests will be rewarded with a Merit Card. Two PB’s are rewarded with a lunch pass to Westfield.
This year the ISA Cross Country will be held on Wednesday 30th May which is a school day. Everyone is welcome - hope to see you there
Mr R Lacey and Miss L Ho - Convenors
Football
Dear Parents and Players,
This weekend sees the commencement of the ISA season and we wish all teams well. Please note that for the ISA season, there is unlimited interchange with 2 x 25 minute halves (except 1st and 2nd XI). In addition to this the ISA has a Mercy Rule where once teams gain a goal advantage of 7, there is an expectation that the leading side will adjust their style of play.
Can I also please take this opportunity to draw your attention to the ISA code conduct which impacts upon both players and supporters and can be found through the following link http://www.isa.nsw.edu.au/sports/code-of-conduct/ .
We have a combination of both home and away venues this weekend and fields can be found at the following locations:
- Walsh and Watkins Field: 1 Dreadnought Rd, Oxford Falls
- Wentworth Park: Wattle St, Ultimo
- Domain Pitches: St Mary’s Rd, Sydney
- SPC 3: Francis Street, Strathfield
- Mason Park: Underwood Road, Homebush
Good luck to all teams.
Mr S Yue -Senior Football Convenor
EREA FOOTBALL IN CANBERRA: SPX 1st XI have just retained the EREA Football Cup in Canberra, defeating St Columban's in the final. Eight sides, hailing from Queensland, NSW, ACT, Norther Territory, Tasmania and South Australia, contested the festival . Our group consisted of 17 players and four staff staying at the AIS and playing at host school St Edmund’s Canberra. Nathan Mellino was our ‘player of the tournament’. Thanks for all the parental support across the three days.
1st X1 Coaching Staff with EREA Cup
1st X1 Coaching Staff with EREA Cup
SPX 1st XI also made the St Andrew’s Cup semi final in the busy holidays before going down 1-0 to old rivals Moriah.
Mr S Quilty
FOOTBALL CLUB NEWS
2018 Football Season Kick-off: This Saturday see the beginning of the winter football season at SPX for all ages. We wish all our teams well.
The coaching program under Chris Semaan is in place with two qualified coaches available at every training afternoon. Chris will also be regularly attending Saturday fixtures to observe first hand how the coaching techniques are being followed and fine tuning the program.
2018 Football World Cup Event: Save this date - Saturday 16th June 8pm when Australia play France in the 2018 World Cup. The Football committee is working on a special event and all football families will soon receive a survey regarding interest in this event so please keep an eye out for it and respond as soon as possible!
College Term 1 Holiday Football (Soccer) Skills Camp: The football club ran a very well attended Football Skills Camp at Oxford Falls during the holidays with 68 boys attending. The feedback we received was that the boys really enjoyed it and everyone had a good time and learned some skills along the way. We are also looking to run a similar camp in the winter holidays. Details regarding dates will be available later in the term.
Mr Rodger Paino - SPX Football Committee
Rugby
Rugby 5th May: This weekend sees the first full round of matches with all teams in action against Cranbrook School except for the 16Cs who take on St Joseph’s College. The 1st XV have been given the fantastic opportunity to play before the NSW Waratahs vs Auckland Blues match at Brookvale Oval kicking off at 5:15pm on Saturday evening.
Discounted tickets for the match are available for students and their friends and families using the link and offer code below, with student tickets starting at just $6. Please consider coming down and supporting the 1st XV.
Go to www.ticketmaster.com.au/waratahs and enter in Offer Code: WELOVERUGBY
All players should have their full rugby uniform by now, consisting of St Pius X hooped jersey, college rugby socks and shorts. These items are available from the uniform shop. Students must have the correct uniform to take the field this weekend.
School Holiday Rugby Clinic and NZ Tour: Plenty of rugby was played over the break with 23 boys from the Under 15s age group tour New Zealand and 90 boys attending the annual School Holiday Clinic.
The tour was a great success with the players improving with every match and taking in so much about the New Zealand culture. The squad played 3 games in six days against fellow EREA schools: St Thomas of Canterbury, St Kevin’s Oamaru and St Peter's in Auckland. Unfortunately our friends across the ditch got the better of us in all three games; however the boys and staff had a great time and return better for the experience. The young men should be commended on the way their represented their College and country, gaining praise where ever they went.
On Monday and Tuesday of the second week players from the Prep through to the 1st XV were taken through skills and drills by ex-international and current Shute Shield players and professional coaches. These skills were put into practice through and internal 7s/10s tournament followed by the 1st XV playing Redfield College in a trial match. St Pius won the tight match 26-21.
Rugby Registration NOW OVERDUE – REGISTER ASAP: All students wishing to play rugby are required to be registered here to be included in a team, allowing the school rugby administrators & coaches to best prepare for the coming season, plus allow your P&F Rugby Club to best support and communicate with you! There are no trials, all students of different shapes, sizes and abilities can find a home within the SPX Rugby Program.
To register please follow the trybooking link below and select the Registration Only option:
https://www.trybooking.com/357095
SPX Rugby Club Dinner: Don’t forget the annual SPX Rugby Club Dinner for parents & supporters on Friday 22nd June 2018 at Roseville Golf Club.
Please check Woodchatta weekly for all the latest Rugby news throughout the season or contact Mr Lynch at JLynch@stpiusx.nsw.edu.au for any general rugby enquiries.
Mr J Lynch - Rugby Convenor
FROM THE RUGBY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Holiday rugby camp
Over 90 players attended our holiday Rugby Camp, enjoying a very well-constructed program with top quality outside expertise from experienced coaches of international and local quality. All players who attended will have learned lots of new skills as well as building on their own skill base.
Our Opens Firsts had a solid workout against Redfield and came away with a very satisfying win. We were committed throughout and deserved the win over very competent opponents.
This week we travel to Cranbrook and will be looking to maintain our winning form shown at A grade across all our non-opens teams when we played St Aloysius College.
It will be good to be back on the grass on Saturday - turn up to enjoy and “get excited” about your game!
Mike Penistone - Rugby Development Officer
ISA Tennis
Welcome to the season!
Our teams/positions have now been published for all players. This weekend we see the competition begin with our Round 1 matches. All teams are playing against St Patrick’s College – see the details below.
Ms A O'Brien - ISA Tennis Convenor