Sport News

Mr Luke Caplick

Looking ahead there is no doubt that Term 2 sport will be another action-packed adventure. During this term AIC chess, cross country, rugby and football will get into full swing. We have a big weekend of rugby and football fixtures coming up against St Laurence’s, Ambrose Treacy College and Sunshine Coast Grammar School. 

 

Thanks to all boys who came back early from their holidays and played football last Saturday against Gregory Terrace. It was a very successful day for the College, winning the majority of games played. 

 

Thanks also to our 1st XI Football and Open Rugby Squads who participated in day camps over the holidays in preparation for their upcoming seasons. We also had 22 boys participate in the Gold Coast Running Festival, with the College winning the largest school participation award, receiving a $500 Rebel Sport Voucher. 

 

Thanks to all football coaches (Terrace games), Brendan Kiernan, Jon Fitzgerald, Tim Sedgwick (Rugby Camp), Andrew King, Corey Lucas (Football Camp), Shane Ward, Brendan Furdek and Harry Hunter (Gold Coast Running Festival) who gave up time over their holidays to facilitate their respective sporting programs. 

 

We also had 20 coaches complete a Level 1 Rugby Coaching Course in The Cyprian Pavilion on Monday evening. We are very fortunate to have staff in Jon Fitzgerald and Tim Sedgwick who are qualified Rugby Australia educators. Their value in administering this course for the development of our coaches is a wonderful resource for the College and we are extremely grateful for their expertise and time. 

 

As we approach the chess, rugby and football trial matches this weekend may I please ask parents to be patient and understanding of the selection process. The next 2 weeks both at training and during the trial games will be important for coaches in the selection process. Please attend all training sessions and games to make this process easier.

 

I wish everybody the very best this term and please remember to get involved, offer your talents to the College and enjoy and good times spent with your mates! 

Parking and Field Allocations - Saturday 24 April

Tennis – Change of Tennis Program

MCA aims to give every boy the chance to benefit from learning through sport, by playing and being coached in the sport of his choice at a level appropriate to his abilities and interest.  Sport plays a major role in the success of our College, and we are pleased to announce some positive changes that will be occurring in the area of tennis from today.

 

We have identified an opportunity to improve the approach toward tennis coaching within the College that will provide more consistent, quality support and competitive opportunities to the student body. We are conscious of the increasing interest in tennis within the College and would like to develop new talent in this field, as well as provide our high performing players with the best possible platform for success. 

 

To enable our students to accomplish their goals and to deliver on the aspirations of the College, we are planning to implement a revised tennis program facilitated by the best available professionals to deliver exceptional coaching and support through the school years, and we will also offer talent pathways for those who excel. We have affiliated with Tennis Queensland and have employed a new Head Tennis Coach, Andrew Ward to deliver our tennis strategy. 

 

Mission and Vision statements have been developed to set clear goals for Tennis at MCA, and we are excited to share this new journey with you.

 

VISION

Within 5 years, the MCA Community Tennis Club will have >400 students participating and will deliver the College a 1st place position in the AIC competition. 

 

The Club will be seen as the benchmark for private school tennis programs and be a driver of choice for parents when selecting a tennis focused school for their son. 

 

MISSION

The MCA Community Tennis Club (‘The Club’) is a family-friendly environment dedicated to delivering a consistently high-quality, competitive sporting experience to club members of all ages and skill levels.  The club will develop to also provide an established external adult and junior programs, offering private lessons and court hire for the greater community.

 

Any enquiries relating to this exciting new initiative with tennis please feel free to contact our new Head Tennis Coach, Andrew Ward at MCATennis@marash.qld.edu.au

 

There will be a tennis information night next Thursday evening at 6:00pm in the Champagnat Centre (Gym). All MCA families are welcome to attend. 

Individual Achievements

Metropolitan North Hockey

Congratulations to Jacob Anderson (12), Sam Keir (12) and Nick Keir (10) who have been selected in the Metropolitan North Hockey team. They will compete in the State Titles during late May at Cairns Hockey Association. 

 

National Track and Field Titles

Over the holidays we had a number of MCA athletes participate at National Track and Field Titles, please see results below: 

  • Fraser PyeTriple Jump Silver Medal. In first place until the last round when 2 athletes passed his distance, Fraser then had to jump a new PB to go back into silver in last round. Fraser jumped 13.66m which has broken the Marist College Ashgrove U/16 College record of 13.55, set by N. Fingelton in 1988. Congratulations Fraser!
  • Joel Drew200m Hurdles Bronze Medal. Had to backup and recovery with a short 2-hour break after a fast semi. Joel followed his race plan perfectly and won an excellent Bronze.  Also, 100m Hurdles just missed final in 9th place with a personal best 14.3s.
  • Carl Martin - 5th Place U20 shot put. In first year of U20, against athletes some of whom were 19 years of age Carl punched above his weight for a 1.4metre Personal Best with a distance of 14.35m with a 6kg Shot Put (5th). Also, a PB throwing over 51 metres in u20 javelin with a 800g open weight javelin (10thU20) and just missed final of U20 Discus also.
  • Lee Martin - 6th Place in U16 Shot Put. Up against some big opponents and a solid 8th place in U16 Javelin to make 2 finals out of 2 events in his first Track & Field nationals.
  • Tom Prole – 10th Place in 3000m. Tom Prole finished 10th overall in the Timed Finals of the U18 3000m. Tom finished 2nd in his heat with a time of 8.51.1. He has broken the Marist College Ashgrove record of 8:55.03, set by M.Neumann in 2012. Congratulations Tom!
Fraser Pye - Silver Triple Jump Action
Fraser Pye - Silver Triple Jump
Joel Drew - Bronze 200m Hurdles
Joel Drew - Bronze Medal 200m Hurdles
Fraser Pye - Silver Triple Jump Action
Fraser Pye - Silver Triple Jump
Joel Drew - Bronze 200m Hurdles
Joel Drew - Bronze Medal 200m Hurdles

 

Baseball State Championships

Lachlan Pawsey (Year 7) and Quinn Loveridge (Year 6) represented Brisbane Metro Little League baseball in the state final championship tournament over the past 4 days.  Just missing out on gold, the team placed second and have now qualified for the National tournament! 

Cross Country

It is crazy to believe there are only 7 weeks to go until the AIC Championships!

 

Welcome back from the school holidays to all XC squad members, this week marks the beginning of our competitive season as we host the Primary Cross-Country Carnival on Wednesday and Senior Carnival next Tuesday. Within the next month, our boys will be participating in a number of pre-season meets leading up to the AIC Championships on Wednesday 2nd June. All key dates are below: 

  • Primary Cross Country Carnival – Wednesday 21 April @ MCA
  • Senior Cross Country Carnival – Tuesday 27 April @ MCA
  • Queensland All Schools Championships – Saturday 8 May @ Limestone Park
  • AIC Meet #1 – Wednesday 19 May @ Runcorn
  • Met North Cross-Country Trials – Tuesday 25 May @ St Pauls School
  • AIC Meet #2 – Wednesday 26 May @ Curlew Park
  • AIC Cross Country Championships – Wednesday 2 June @ Curlew Park

We had a jam-packed holiday period with regular training sessions and ‘invited students only’ attending the Gold Coast Running Festival. It was great to see the outstanding turnout for holiday sessions and the camaraderie across the team during the morning Touch Football games. 

 

Last Sunday we took 23 students away to compete in a 5km dash at the Gold Coast Running Festival. Our boys performed exceptionally well, with nine boys finishing with a time sub 20 minutes. MCA were also crowned winners of this year's Rebel Sport Groups Challenge, winning the largest school competition. Congratulations to all involved. 

 

A special mention must go out to Zack Newsham who finished 2nd place out of 250 participants with an incredible time of 16:45. A special thanks must go to Head Coach Shane Ward, Primary Coordinator Brendan Saunders and Assistant Coordinator Harry Hunter who gave up their time to attend the festival and supervise the students. 

 

Queensland All Schools Championships

All students who are interested are invited to participate in the 38th annual Queensland Athletics All Schools Cross Country Championships at Limestone Park, Ipswich. 

All school students aged 6-19 years, of all abilities, are encouraged to compete, however it is not compulsory. This acts as a selection trial for the Queensland Athletics Team which will compete at the 2021 Australian Cross-Country Championships.

If your son is interested and it doesn’t clash with Term 2 AIC Sport, please make sure you register online via the link below: 

 

https://www.qldathletics.org.au/index.cfm/competition/details/?id=564 

 

Entries close Monday 3rd May at 9:00am. NO late entries are accepted. 

 

Term 2 Training Schedule

The training schedule will continue as normal up until AIC Championships; generally speaking, an effective taper involves maintaining training quality whilst reducing volume by 20%-30% over a period of a few weeks. Coaches will monitor training load appropriately and this will be communicated with students. The AIC Cross Country Championships will be held Week 7, and the boys will be unprepared for that race if they do not take training seriously over the next seven weeks. Some boys are only doing one session per week – again this will not prepare you well for the big day.

 

IMPORTANT: Please note we have had a minor change to our training schedule meeting point. Students are to meet at the Pool on Monday and Tuesday and McMahon Oval on Wednesday and Thursday. 

 

For all Wednesday and Thursday sessions, we have a tradition of playing touch before training – for those interested, this will kick off around 6:30am onwards. For the next two Mondays, there will be NO cross-country training due to Public Holidays. 

 

Squad Presentation Night

This year’s AIC Squad Presentation Night will take place on Thursday 27 May after the 2nd AIC preparation meet. All XC students are invited to attend as we acknowledge the year level teams for this year’s AIC Championships. More information will be provided in a few weeks, stay tuned! Happy Running!

Swimming

Australian National Age Championships

Over the holidays Hayden Barnes, Angus Bathe, Archie Bathe, Noah Coco, Jack Goyen, Thomas Hicks, Jack L’Enfant, Ryley Leeper, James Leigh, Matthew Magnussen, Spencer Mahoney, Matthew O'Keeffe, Alex Pedroni, Darcey Salter, Bailey Skinner, Max Wilson and Noah Wright competed at the Australian National Age Swimming Championships. 

These swimmers work tirelessly for 12 months of the year to compete at 2 major events that being AIC Swimming Championships and Australian National Age. The best swimmers from around the country came to the Gold Coast from Monday 5 April to Monday 12 April. The Marist community was well represented with the MCA Swimming Club finishing in 20th place out of 157 clubs.

 

There were some great individual performances over the week which included 5 boys finishing inside the top 10 in the following events. 

 

Matthew Magnussen

  • 3rd in 100m Backstroke
  • 7th in 200m Freestyle
  • 2nd in 200m Backstroke

James Leigh

  • 2nd in 400m Freestyle
  • 3rd in 200m Freestyle
  • 6th in 200m Individual Medley
  • 7th in 100m Butterfly
  • James also placed 4th in the 100m Freestyle in a new school record of 54.27 which was formally held by Australian Team member Aaron Bourke set in 1991

Jack Goyen

  • 4th in 100m Freestyle
  • 5th in 50m Freestyle

Thomas Hicks

  • 10th in 100m Backstroke

Angus Bathe

  • 9th in 1500m Freestyle

There were also 8 school records broken at this event which are as follows. 

 

Swimming has commenced for Term 2 if you wish to have your son/s or other family members assessed please feel free to contact swim@marash.qld.edu.au to book your assessment today. 

Rugby

Welcome back to everyone for what is always an enjoyable term for the students when rugby season officially begins! After 2020 cut the season short we know that all boys are looking forward to ripping into the next eight games of rugby.

 

With a short start to the season last term, prior to another COVID interruption, there will be movement amongst teams in an effort to get our selections right. Please be patient.

 

Training and trial information has been posted on the College APP. This weekend will see a mixture of games for our students against SLC, Sunshine Coast Grammar and Ambrose Treacy College in the primary school. Please check game times carefully as they are different to our usual schedule.

 

Ahead of this weekend’s trials, please make sure the following gear is organised:

  • Playing gear – school jersey, BLUE shorts (no other colour please!), MCA rugby socks
  • Your OWN water bottle – marked with your name please. We cannot be sharing water bottles
  • Mouthguard
  • Any other protective gear you may require (headgear, shoulder pads, etc)

Training Schedule (this schedule may be subjected to change)

The training schedule for this week was posted on the College APP yesterday and listed again here below. Please check carefully for when each team is on. If boys change teams they will also need to follow when their new team is training.

 

**Training is a compulsory part of preparing for your rugby games. Any appointments or other clashes should be organised outside of your training commitments. Please make direct contact with your coach or age coordinator (listed below) if you cannot attend for any reason. DO NOT send messages via other students**

 

Age Group Coordinators

·  Mr Tim Sedgwick - Open Coordinator

·  Mr David Miles - Year 10 Coordinator

·  Mr David Meehan - Year 9 Coordinator

·  Mr Peter McIntosh - Year 8 Coordinator

·  Mr Damien Nelson - Year 7 Coordinator

Sport Canteen

Sign up - http://signup.com/go/DCZLUpi

Sign up - http://signup.com/go/DCZLUpi

Park Run - Des Connor Park