Going for Gold!

The Thrilling Kayaking Competition in Tasmania 

By Riley Tyebji, Year 8, The Ridgeway Campus

The kayaking club at IGS not only provides a fun experience but also offers various opportunities for kayaking enthusiasts such as camps and competitions. Some examples of these are the King River camp (in Victoria) and even the Penrith Camp (in NSW.) But the pinnacle of these camps was the trip to the Canoe Slalom Age Championships that was held in Tasmania in January. This championship is considered the national championship for canoe slalom. Tasmania is an island nation with many rivers and crystal-clear waters, making it ideal for kayaking. 

The 21 students from The Ridgeway campus and the Plenty campus who were participating in the kayaking competition gathered at Melbourne airport, prepared their luggage for the trip, and boarded the plane. After a brief 55-minute plane ride, we arrived in Launceston, Tasmania. Despite the short plane journey, the bus ride to our destination took a considerable amount of time, spanning for two hours. Once we reached the motel, we put on our kayaking gear and headed to the beautiful Forth River. We were accompanied by Mr. Hogg and Mr. Draper, who were responsible for supervising us at the camp.

During our stay at the Forth River, we took part in various races. The most exciting races for me were the races that were held on a slalom course, which was modified daily. Slaloming involves kayaking down a river and passing through different gates with different colours. If the gate is green, it is passed through straight, while if the gate is red, it is passed through upstream. The complete course consists of 18 gates. To ensure safety while racing, we wore protective gear such as helmets, life jackets, and kayak decks to prevent flooding of the boat. Each of us participated in multiple races, including the K1 (for solo kayakers) and the C2 (for two kayakers), and our race times were recorded and displayed on a leader board. All participants from IGS gave their best and proudly represented the school. The IGS team secured second place in the National championship. Congratulations to all! These races brought students from various schools and states together and provided them the opportunity to showcase their wonderful kayaking skills.

We all had a lot of fun on this trip. We were able to share rooms with friends and went to many different places for lunch and dinner. We started each day early, waking up at 6:45 am. One of the most memorable moments for me was the beach walk we took on our last night. Our return flight to Melbourne was from Devonport. All the kayakers were disappointed to leave such a fun trip behind. However, we can’t wait for the next camp and the new experiences it will bring. A huge thank you to Mr Hogg, Mr Draper, and Mr Gibbs for organising this wonderful trip. It was an unforgettable experience, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of it.

Volleyball Trip to the Gold Coast 

By Grace Alberti, Year 10, The Ridgeway Campus

On the 4th of December 2022, six volleyball teams took off to Gold Coast for the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup. It was a week-long trip, beginning with the opening ceremony on Sunday, five days of games within our division and then finals on Saturday. It was an amazing opportunity to play volleyball, strengthen friendships and make new memories.

I was lucky enough to be co-captain of the 8/9 girls volleyball team, coached by Mr Adderley. Before the trip, our team was a combination of a few friendship groups, but by the end we were one team with many happy memories shared between us.

Over the course of Monday to Friday we played around six games. We won most of our games and qualified for the semi-final, which we won 3 sets 0. We quickly learnt how easy it was to get a lead and lose one and by the end of the competition we had learnt how to come back from being behind.

Whilst this trip was an amazing opportunity to play volleyball, we had many amazing times off the courts, living in apartments with a group of friends, going shopping for groceries by ourselves, enjoying time down at the pool and going out for dinners. The time we had as a team off the court made us stronger on the court as we were friends first and teammates second. We also enjoyed spending time with the other girls and boys teams, watching them play and cheering them on, and updating them on how they were going within the competition.

My fondest memory, on the gold coast trip, would have to be our grand final. Unfortunately, our team and the girl’s year 11/12 team’s grand finals were at the same time so we didn’t get the chance to see them play but we were lucky enough to have their support in our final set.

We had won the first set and were losing in the second when the girls 11/12 team came running into our court cheering us on. We quickly got the thumbs up that they had won their grand final and were so excited. At this point we were now even 1 set all with our opponent St Scholastica's and down to this third set. The court was loud, full of our school's five other volleyball teams and coaches, they were all cheering us. The last set was a close one. It was a set point and before we knew it, all the other volleyball teams were on the court with us and we had won. This would have to be my fondest memory of Gold Coast, all our Ivanhoe Grammar school teams were together, chanting ego-yah, while being so proud we had won.

This trip was an amazing experience, spearheaded by Tanya and Mr Mac, we were all given an amazing opportunity to play the sport we loved, spend time with our friends and make new memories. A big thankyou to Tanya and Mr Mac, but also to all the coaches and teachers involved, Mr Warwick, Chloe, Mr Peat, Damon, Ms Geoghegan and especially our coach Mr Adderley. We were all able to do so well and have so much fun with all of the support we were given.