Sports

Australian All Schools Athletics Championships

Congratulations and well done to Sophie Connolly and Mitchell Walker who took part in the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in Adelaide during term 4. 

Sophie competed in the 3000m, Mitch ran in the 400m and Joshua Walker competed in the 4x400m relay as well as the discus. 

Also competing were High School students Marz Kwa in the shot put, javelin and hammer throw, Oliver Thiessen in the 2000m, 3000m and steeplechase, Alejandro Fisher in the 1500m and javelin and Violet Owen in the 800m and 1500m. 

Sophie and Mitchell are our Sports Representatives on the 2023 Clemes Council. 

Girls Football Final

During term 4, the Years 7/8 Girls football team played in the Grand Final against Collegiate. Unfortunately, they narrowly lost but all girls showed great courage, resilience and sportsmanship. Friends' students weren't just on the field...they were also on the sidelines. The girls were umpired by Year 5 student, Archie George and Year 12 student, Ben Strong (pictured below). 

Rowing

By Anthony Edwards, Head of Rowing

The 2022/2023 rowing season is well and truly underway with over 120 Friends' students involved in rowing this season. 

Whilst our Open rowers have been training for some time our new rowers had their first experience with the sport during the October School Holidays. The Year 6 students really enjoyed the Sculling Skills Program with the majority of them signing up to row this season.

State Pennant #1 was held at Franklin on the 22 and 23 of October with impressive results from our Opens (Years 10/11). The Open Boys won both the U19 and Senior Eights races and the Open Girls won the U19 Eight and came a very close second in the U21 Eight. We also came an impressive first and second place in the U17 Mens Double with great results in the U19 Mens Single races.

On Saturday 5 November, we held our Friends' Mini Regatta for our Junior rowers, which provided great race practice for all involved. It was lots of fun and amazing to see how far our rowers have come in just a few short weeks!

Our Welcome Function saw over 200 members of the Friends’ Rowing community gather to launch the season and celebrate the naming of two new boats, the Peter Gibson (Coxed 4) and Ian McMahon (Coxless Pair/Double). Both Peter and Ian have given so much of their time and expertise to Friends’ rowing over many years.

We recently took possession of the newest member of our fleet, a Sykes Racing Eight. This boat will be used by our Open Girls crew. We would like to thank all the families that took part in our many fundraising efforts last season that have made the purchase of this boat possible.

We would also like to thank several families and businesses for their generous donations last season to Friends’ Rowing via The Australian Sports Foundation. Our sincere thanks to Dentists of Tasmania, Powercom Solar and Marine Solutions Tasmania.

School Regatta #1 was held at Lake Barrington in less than ideal weather conditions. With great teamwork across all age groups we were able to keep our boats safely tied down on racks, help each other getting boats in/out (be it the odd oar blowing away at times!) and even hold our team tents from blowing away. Our efforts on the water showed our knowledge and skills in practise, which everyone can be commended on.

On Saturday 3 November, our Junior Quad Sprint regatta was held for our Juniors (Years 6-8). This is an exciting new regatta with racing over 500m & 750m against other schools. A terrific atmosphere and experience for all involved.

The following day, our Opens and U16’s (Years 9, 10, 11) competed in the Long Distance 8 Regatta. We had 4 eights represented with our Open Girls finishing 3rd in the overall race results.

School Regatta #2 was held on December 10 and 11. Once again, we moved our entire rowing program to Lake Barrington, this time the weather was friendly to us. We had terrific results across all age groups, yet more importantly everyone experienced the ability to put everything they had learned across the Term into the racing. This regatta completes our first half of the season.

We now break for the year with optional training across January, yet our Annual Rowing Camp at New Norfolk from Jan 17-21.

Thank you to all families and coaches and volunteers who continue to support the rowing program to ensure we can provide a wonderful experience for the students involved.

Basketball Championships

During term 4, the Southern Regional Tasmanian High School Basketball Championships were held at Kingston and Swisher Academy in Hobart. The Friends' School entered a Year 9/10 Div 2 Boys team.

After winning one of their two games on Saturday, the boys finished 2nd in their pool round. The boys then won both their games on Sunday to finish the weekend 5th out of 13 teams. A big thank you to coach Ronnie Riggs and the boys for representing the School so well.

JSSATIS 

Our Primary Years students participated in the Junior School SATIS Carnival. All our students represented the School well, with many successes. We are proud of all their achievements on the day.

K-2 Sports Day

Our Kindergarten to Year 2 students gathered on our lower green for their annual Sports Day. Although the weather unfortunately cut the day short, our students had a great day. Thanks to all the teachers and school staff who were involved in putting together such an excellent event.