SPORT REPORTS
2013 PIERRE DE COUBERTIN AWARDS
Last Sunday I had the privilege of attending the 2103 Pierre de Coubertin Awards and the Olympic Academy conducted by the Victorian Olympic Council at the MCG.
Lucy Kennedy (Year 10) was selected this year by the McKinnon Physical Education staff as our deserved award recipient. Lucy demonstrated in her junior years, and continues to do so, the essential Olympic Values. These important values are attitude, sportsmanship, pride, individual responsibility, respect and self-expression. Lucy was presented with her award by The Hon Martin Dixon MLA minister for Education, Danielle Woodward OAM -Olympic K1 Slalom Silver medalist and Nicole Livingston AOM - Olympic Swimming bronze and silver medalist.
Yulissa Huo (Year 10) was also invited to attend the Olympic Academy which gave her an opportunity to discuss and debate contemporary issues in sport and the Olympic Games with past and present Olympians. The Academy gave the girls the opportunity to search for solutions as well as interact with young people in their region.
Lucy and Yulissa were great ambassadors for our college and by all reports thoroughly enjoyed the experience last Sunday at the home of the 1956 Olympic Games - the MCG!
The International Pierre de Coubertin Committee (CIPC) invites the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) to send a delegation of eight students to the 9th International Youth Forum from Thursday 8 August to Monday 26 August in Lillehammer, Norway. Each State nominates one female and one male. Nick Parkinson (last year's McKinnon recipient) and Lucy were nominated to attend and Nick has been selected to be one of the eight delegates heading off to Norway! He will be involved in creating the forum program, organising sporting events, leading discussion groups and coordinating group activities as well as participating for the Coubertin Award.
Congratulations Lucy, Yulissa and Nick on your achievements. You do the school proud. We are all thrilled for you Nick and wish you all the best in Norway. We look forward to hearing all about it upon your return. It’s so wonderful to see students embracing these opportunities.
Carole Hooper
Head of Junior Sport
JUNIOR SPORTS REPORT
Congratulations to the following teams that have made Finals:
· Year 7 Boys' and Girls' Soccer;
· Year 7 Boys' and Girls' Badminton;
· Year 8 Girls' Soccer;
· Year 8 Boys' Badminton and
· Year 8 Girls' Netball A.
Please NOTE the following:
· the Finals will be from 1.30pm - 2.30pm;
· all the soccer will be at the Sandy VCE campus;
· all badminton at Westall;
· netball at the Sandy 7-10 campus.
The Year 7 teams will play on Tuesday 25 June against the winner of the Round Robin competition.
The Year 8 teams will play on Friday 21 June against the winner of the Round Robin competition.
Parents are always welcome.
Good Luck to all teams.
Go McKinnon!
Carole Hooper
Head of Junior Sport
INTERMEDIATE BOYS' STATE FINAL VOLLEYBALL
The Date in History: 22 May, 2013
The Stage: Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
The Battle: School Sport Victorian State Volleyball Championship
The following boys Ashrey Annavarapu, Daniel Kudriavcev, Nicholas Makris, Riley Parker, Fraser Rhind, Shaun Samulenok, Ross Sandler, Yo Seop Shim and Matthew Wilkins from Years 9 & 10 were about to have a chance to make Volleyball history.
They arrived after an inspirational bus ride with some great pre-game music, after the “important” technical meeting, the games began. The boys did a ‘very casual’ job warming up for the first match and it showed, with the boys losing the first set of the day to our age-old rivals and the team-to-beat Eltham, but we were able to fight back and win the second set. We eventually lost in three sets. The scores were 20-15, 15-20, 15-11. After the slightly painful loss we knew what we had to do to get a second chance against Eltham and it would only be in the final.
The next game against Horsham College started off slowly again. We had to ensure that we won that game and the boys did eventually. The scores were 22-20, 20-15. The last pool match was another two sets win against Shepparton College with the boys learning how to play together better with every set they played. This was encouraging to see from the sidelines. With a place in the Semi-Finals assured, we knew who we were playing and prepared accordingly with the game one on one volleyball. This led to a crushing victory against Bendigo SE in the Semi-Final with a score 20-11, 20-11. This gave us a little rest before the Final while Eltham finished their match against a reasonably strong one-man team from Keilor Downs. Once they had finished, it was game on – but only after the pre-match war cries and karaoke to songs such as Melbourne Sound to get ourselves really pumped.
The boys lined up in unity, the Australian Anthem was sung, the crowd cheered, water bottles were filled, muscles were taped, the lineup was decided and then it was time. The boys played an error-riddled first set and let Eltham get over the top of them. The score was 20-15, so after a change of ends and inspirational, motivational and unconventional speeches from the coaches, the boys somehow found out that they could play Volleyball. After an early timeout in the set which stopped Eltham from running away with the game and halted their momentum, they never found it again.
As they played better and better, Eltham got quieter and quieter. The second set was a dominant performance for us in a close set with a score of 20-14. The boys were ecstatic with their fight but were warned not to get caught up in how good it felt and not to be satisfied until they had won the last and final set. This attitude showed in the next set as the boys raced to the lead. Points were exchanged back and forth and Eltham looked as if they could come back but when it gets close, champions rise. The score 13-10 to McKinnon and the ball is dug up from a spike from Eltham and goes close to our saviour who “just wanted to get the ball back over and in” as he digs the ball perfectly to the back right corner of Eltham's court and places us on match point. Dominic O’Farrell nearly died laughing after this point. One more point and McKinnon had become the State Volleyball Champions for the second year in a row with the final score of 15-10. Special thanks must be mentioned to our specialist coach Darcy Taig and who also contributed with this report. Also to Dominic who not only was part of our cheer squad but also umpiring games.
Congratulations to Darcy Taig, Riley Parker and Fraser Rhind who will be representing Victoria in the Australian Youth Volleyball Championships to be held at the AIS in Canberra during the third term school holidays.
Ray Braniska
Coach
CROSS COUNTRY SMR FINALS
On a wet and cold Monday 17 June, sixty two McKinnon students represented the Kingston Division at Ballam Park, Frankston in the Southern Metro Region Finals.
McKinnon had eight teams running with strong results:
· 14 Boys - 2nd
· 14 Girls - 2nd
· 15 Boys - 1st
· 15 Girls - 4th
· 16 Boys - 1st
· 16 Girls - 3rd
· 17-20 Boys - 2nd
· 17-20 Girls - 1st
McKinnon also had some outstanding podium finishes:
· 1st - Sophie Highnam (14 Girls)
· 2nd - Sejin Gunaridis (17-20 Girls)
· 3rd - Marcus Maier (17-20 Boys)
Approximately twenty-eight students (including three teams) have progressed through to the State Finals to be held at Bundoora Park on Thursday 18 July.
James Bridges
Head of Senior Sport