STATE SQUASH SUCCESS

On 23 July 2014, the McKinnon Junior Squash team embarked on the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Teams had qualified through to State Finals without playing a match this year.

The boys teams played well all day, with the Year 8 Boys (Matias Fernandez, Eric Pagoulatos, Alex Hunter and Advait Tanna) beating Albert Park, Dromana and Gladstone Park on their way to a 4th place finish. The Year 7 team (Winston Bolt, Matthew Stephens and Nick Livanos) fought hard all day and finished in 8th place. The highlight was beating Camberwell Grammar School.

The girls team (Lilly Felder, Kathy Lee, Amy Kang and Lucia Roohizadegan) won their first match after Lilly Felder won her rubber in a sudden death point. Unfortunately, Melton Secondary were too experienced and took out the title of State champions. But our girls were proud to be State Runners Up in their first ever squash tournament.

Also, on 30 July the Intermediate Boys and Girls teams competed at MSAC in their Victorian Finals. The boys team (Harry Nicola, James Hackett-Smith, Dylan Kadish and Johnny Dembo) had a couple of wins during the day and overall finished 8th. The girls (Angela Chen, Grace Mackay, Grace Mather and Amy Volfson) also had a couple of good wins and also placed 8th. For many, it was their first squash tournament and all students represented the school with great sportsmanship and enthusiasm.

Tim Blackwood

Coach

STATE NETBALL ALL SCHOOLS

On 28 July our Intermediate Netball teams competed in the Regional qualifing for the Netball Victoria Schools competition. Both teams were triumphant on the day, finishing at the top of their pool. For the first time in McKinnon history, both teams will compete in the all Schools State Championships on 15 September. We wish both teams the best of luck!

Tim Blackwood

Coach

VICTORIAN VOLLEYBALL SCHOOLS CUP

Each year, Volleyball Victoria invite all schools to compete in a three day, state-wide tournament. This includes public and independent schools, sporting academy schools and schools that run elite volleyball programs, such as Eltham College, Girton Grammar and Billanook. This year’s tournament ran from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 July.

After experiencing several years of success, McKinnon entered four teams who had been training regularly throughout the year. Throughout the tournament, the students had the opportunity to improve their skills, challenge themselves against fierce competition and build their team spirit. Each team showed significant development as each match progressed, but it was their attitude and energy that was most impressive. The students represented the school admirably, consistently displaying positive teamwork, good sportsmanship and respect.

Our Under 15 Boys team consisted of Year 7s and 8s, including several boys who had never played a competitive match before. Their progress was remarkable as they started to improve their understanding of the game and refine their skills. After some early losses, they went on to defeat some very strong teams. They finished fourth in their division, narrowly losing the Bronze medal match to an experienced Upwey team. Congratulations Jesse Scholz, Lachie Vasic, Matt Peel, Max Kennedy, Morgan Watkins, Marom Schell, Jakub Foltynowicz, Danny Hanrahan and Sebastian Sierra-Urban. A special mention needs to be made of James French, who although injured and unable to play, attended their matches and cheered on the rest of the boys enthusiastically from the bench.

The Under 16 Boys have been playing as a team for the past three years and their hard work is evident on the court. They played in the elite ‘Honours’ Division, facing the strongest teams in the state. Their enthusiasm and teamwork was energizing and enabled them to win most of their games in the Round Robin. In defeating St Bernard’s College in the Semi-Final, the boys won the Bronze Medal and have qualified to play in the Honours League at the National Tournament at the end of the year. Congratulations Luke La Greca, Tom Degering, Sam Halsall, Ryan Diep, Min Shim, Alex Skalova, Josh Wilkins, Brendan Moncrieff, Dylan Kadish and Jason Schwarz.

The Open Girls team included girls from Year 9 - 11, competing against teams largely composed of Year 12s. These girls were continually positive and incredibly supportive of each other, and should be commended on their amazing attitude. Finishing eighth, the girls worked incredibly hard and will be rewarded in next year’s tournament. Great work Maree Taig, Eliana Adler, Aiyana Alexander, Anita Lin, Seii Chen, Hannah Rosenberg, Anika Duggan and Michelle Weng.

However, the highlight of the tournament was the Open Boys performance in the honours division. By winning the gold medal match, they earned the highest recognition of the tournament and can proudly call themselves the best volleyball team in the State across all schools. Several of these boys became interested in volleyball in Year 7 or 8 and after many years of training and dedication, have now gone on to become State and National representative players. This tournament was an accomplishment to be cherished. After an undefeated Round Robin, they fought valiantly in a Semi-Final against Billanook to win in five gruelling sets. The gold medal match was a passionate challenge against Girton Grammar who had not dropped a set the entire tournament, until this match. Five long sets ensued and McKinnon was crowned champions, with Darcy Taig being recognised as the Most Valuable Player in this division. What an incredible achievement Darcy Taig, Dominic O’Farrell, Liam Adlington, Fraser Rhind, Riley Parker, Ross Sandler, Yo Seop Shim, Ashrey Annavarapu, Matt Wilkins and Nick Markis. Some the credit is due to Mr Desalvo, who began coaching these boys from Year 7. After five years of dedication, their combined efforts have been rewarded in the highest manner.

The tournament would not be possible without the support from the parents, who transported the teams to and from Dandenong and cheered enthusiastically from the sideline. It would also not have been possible without Mr Desalvo running training sessions since the start of the year.

Thank you Mr Desalvo, for giving up your mornings to train and your entire weekend to coach the tournament. Thank you also to Mr Braniska and Ms Andrieux for coaching and spending long days at Dandenong. And thanks to Mr Hudd for coming down to cheer the Senior Boys on!

Ms Dickson

Coach

FINALS

SOUTHERN METROPOLITAN REGION FINALS

Last week many teams played in the Southern Metro Region Finals.

The following teams won the Region and progress to the State Finals later this term:

Year 8 Girls Soccer
Inter Girls Soccer
Senior Girls Soccer

The following teams finished Runners Up in the Southern Metropolitan Region:

Senior Boys Table Tennis
Year 7 Boys Soccer
Senior Girls Football
Senior Boys Hockey

The following teams won the Kingston Division and played in the Southern Metropolitan Finals:

Senior Girls Table Tennis
Year 8 Boys Soccer
Junior Girls Football
Senior Girls Badminton
Inter Girls Badminton
Senior Girls Hockey

Upcoming teams to play in the Southern Metro Finals include:

Year 7 B Girls Netball and Girls Netball - Wednesday 6 August
Senior Boys and Inter Boys Netball - Friday 8 August
Year 8 Boys and Year 7 Girls Badminton - Monday 25 August.

Good Luck to these teams.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to the Inter Boys Basketball Team who finished 6th in the State All Schools Basketball Championships on Tuesday 29 July. On Thursday 31 July the Year 7 & 8 Boys Basketball Team also played in the State All Schools Championships finishing 10th in the State. Well Done Boys.

Congratulations to the Intermediate Boys and Girls Netball Teams who played in the All-Schools State Qualifying Championships last Monday. Both team won through to the State Finals later in the term.

UPCOMING DATES

Intermediate Round Robin - Monday 8 August.

Sports Include Boys and Girls Hockey, Boys and Girls Futsal, Boys and Girls Basketball and Mixed Ultimate Frisbee.

James Bridges

Head of Sport

JUNIOR SPORT

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YEAR 8 GIRLS SOCCER

Congratulations to the Year 8 Girls Soccer team who are the 2014 Southern Metropolitan Champions.

The defeated:

Mentone Girls 1 – 0
Dandenong 2 – 1
Mornington 1 – 0 in the Final.

They now advance to the State Finals on Friday 5 September at Darebin Soccer Centre.

Good Luck Girls!!

INTERSCHOOL SPORT

Interschool sport begins this week Friday 8 August for Year 8s and Tuesday 12 August for Year 7s. Please ensure all hockey players have mouthguards and McKinnon Sport Uniform long school socks so they can participate.

CHECK COMPASS MESSAGES

Please encourage your child to regularly check compass for sport messages so they can be at the right place and the right at the right time to support their team.

Go McKinnon!!!

Carole Hooper

Head of Junior Sport

SPORTSMANS NIGHT

On Wednesday July 30th McKinnon hosted a Sportsman Night in the school hall. Our guest speakers entertained the crowd for 2 hours and were Richmond Coach Damien Hardwick, Former students Collingwood's Jack Frost and Max Gawn and former Hawthorn 3 time Premiership Player James Morrissey. There was also a silent auction which had 50 items ranging from 7 signed AFL jumpers, 2 signed AFL footballs, a wetsuit, coffee machine, Nail Vochers, personal training, Surf Lessons, Movie Tickets and much more.

The night raised $3000 for the Intermediate basketball team to go to Canberra for the National All Schools Basketball Tournament in December.

Thanks for all those who attended and supported the night.