Co-curricular - Junior Sport

What an exciting day we had on Friday! The pool was awash with close finishes, neck and neck points scores and a school spirit that filled the atmosphere around Birrong Pool. It was wonderful to see how all the boys challenged themselves for their House and made every effort to compete for points. All the boys should be congratulated for their efforts and behaviour on the day. Thanks also must go to all the staff for their tireless efforts on the day and the all the parents and carers that came out to share the Junior School House Swimming Carnival with us. In the end it was Rice House that came away with the winner’s trophy. A close battle with Hickey all day came down to the final relay. An exciting finish to an amazing day. Congratulations to the following boys who were named age champions for 2023.

10 Years: Aidan Toal
11 Years (Year 5): Tom Edwards
11 Years (Year 6): Anthony Toscano
12 Years: Noah Richards

One thing that was highlighted for me from this year’s carnival was the impact COVID has had on many boys and their swimming ability. Many boys would have missed much time in the pool due to COVID restrictions and have struggled to get back to their lessons. As the boys move through their time at the College, participation in all aspects of the College is encouraged. This includes involvement in College carnivals. For families that have struggled to get their sons back into swimming programs after COVID, I would highly encourage a re-engagement with the sport. There are many health and well-being advantages to swimming activities, not to mention the confidence and ability to be involved in future College life.

As we move past one major carnival, the next is just around the corner. On Tuesday 14 March, the Junior School will take part in the Annual Cross Country Carnival. This carnival will be held at Hudson Park, a short walk up the road from the College. The carnival is a morning event starting at around 9:00 AM and is broken into three age groups, 10s, 11s and 12s events. Both the 11s and 12s will run 3KM, with the 10s running 2KM. It is expected that all boys be involved in the carnival on the day, either running or walking the course. Our carnival informs further representative opportunities for the boys in our Cross Country Squad.

As the Cross Country Carnival occurs during the Lenten period, we also use the cross-country races as the Junior School’s major fundraising opportunity. All boys would have come home with a sponsorship card and are asked to raise as much money as possible for their involvement in the Cross Country carnival. This year our Lenten partners are the Edmund Rice Foundation, Ruben Centre. All money raised will be going towards initiatives to support those much less fortunate than ourselves. Boys are asked to seek sponsorship from family and friends and to record this on their forms. Fundraising will continue after the event and an announcement will be made about when to bring in the money raised.

Earlier in the term, I mentioned the first three weeks of the term were an extension of the trial period and that changes would be made after this point. Considering that there have been some changes in coaching staff over this period, I thought it prudent to give the new coaches an opportunity to view players before making recommendations and making changes. I plan to make the recommended changes for teams in time for this weekend’s rounds. Boys will be informed by me directly about any movements in teams.

I have received a few emails lately regarding Junior School Sport photos from 2022. The information on accessing and ordering these photos were in Mr Fochesato’s Especean article on 8 February. To access the information, please go to the College website, ‘click’ on Our Community, College Newsletter on the lefthand menu and then ‘click’ the link for ‘Issue 2’ of Term 1, 2023. Once in the Especean, ‘click’ on the Co-curricular link and the photo information is found at the top of the page.

With only two rounds of the Summer season remaining, attention starts to turn towards winter sport trials and setting up the new season. Information about times and locations for Winter trials will come out shortly. All trials will occur after the conclusion of the Term 1 Summer sport rounds.

I wish all our teams the best of luck for their games this weekend.

John Locke

Junior School Coordinator of Co-curricular