SPORT At St George’s sport plays a huge role in life at school. It encompasses everyone, with sport being played from Nursery to Upper Six and teams playing lots of different sports at many different levels. St George’s girls ‘work their socks off’ every week accomplishing extraordinary achievements, we are here to give them the recognition that they deserve.
SPORTING SUCCESSES This year we have already made so many great achievements, in such a small period.
SKIING On Wednesday 29 September, a group of 15 pupils headed to Hillend dry ski slope to take part in Dual Autumn Slalom event. It was fun fast and furious skiing for all those involved, with huge congratulations to our senior ski team, who won a silver medal in this event, qualifying for the next round.
Recently Isla (L6) competed in the Scottish Dry Slope Championships and Eola GBR outdoor race at Hillend ski slope. This was a competitive day of slalom skiing, which Isla achieved greatly in. She finished runner up in the U18 category, an amazing achievement. She then went on to compete in the GS race for the Scottish championship where she won a bronze medal in the U18 category. Well done Isla!
BADMINTON Congratulations to Deepti on achieving her first Scotland Cap. She participated in the U15 international tournament and gave an excellent performance. She also won silver in the doubles category. See a Twitter feed from Badminton Scotland on her interview after the team event below. https://twitter.com/badmintonscot/status/1444085301027217410?s=21
Vibha recently competed in Scottish National mixed doubles championships, in badminton. She went into the competition unseeded, having never been paired with her partner before. They played through several competitive games of badminton, reaching the final for a very close game. Vibha and her partner eventually came out on top, becoming the Scottish mixed doubles champion.
NETBALL AND SWIMMING On Thursday 30 September we had both netball and swimming teams out competing in the MES annual GSA tournament. It was an amazing afternoon for all involved, with every team displaying a fantastic effort. Our swimmers secured a remarkable 3rd place. The 1st netball team retained their title, winning the tournament and the 2nd team narrowly missed out on the silver medal. It was an incredible afternoon of sport
DISTRICT TEAM SELECTIONS HOCKEY East district hockey is back up and running. They recently won their game against Glasgow, featuring the 1XI player, Honor. There are also lots of different St George’s training within the aspiring and emerging squads: Kate L6 Molly L6 Florance U4 Honor U5 Isabelle U4 Abigail L5 Isabella U4 Sophie L5 Hannah U4 Katie L5 Mary Brotherton U4 Susanna L5 All of these girls have worked exceptionally hard to get to this position, and we wish them the best of luck with their season ahead.
NETBALL Several of our netballers have recently attended trials for the Edinburgh District netball teams. Everyone who trialled showed an excellent performance and should be proud of how they played. A special congratulations to Olivia (L6), Tami (U5) and Iris (U4) for their selection for the U17 and U15 teams. They will be competing at an exceptionally high level of netball; we wish them the best of luck!
SPORT-LIGHT 1ST XI HOCKEY TEAM After a slow start to the season, losing their first match to Edinburgh Academy 4-1, it’s been onwards and upwards for the team. In their second match they played George Watsons, scoring a goal in the first 10 minutes of the game gave them a strong lead, they continued to put George Watsons under a huge amount of pressure for the whole game, unfortunately Watsons scored a goal in the last minute of the game, an unfortunate draw, but an outstanding game played by both teams. Their next game was played against a strong Mary Erskine’s side. The team started holding a strong defensive press, keeping Mary Erskine’s at bay, they finished the first half 0-0. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be in the second half, the team looked strong and held their own against a well drilled team, but eventually losing the game 2-0. It was an exciting game from both sides. They then played Kilgrastion in an exciting match coming out on top with a 3-2 victory. An amazing result. Finally, this weekend they played their first round of the Scottish
cup against a strong Edinburgh Academy side. It was a phenomenal match, with both teams playing amazing hockey at their maximum work effort, both attacking and defending with amazing skill. At full time the score was 0-0, this meant that it was going down to penalty flicks. After 5 flicks being taken from each team it was again a draw, with each team scoring one of their flicks. It then went down to sudden death flicks. Unfortunately, after amazing flicks from both sides, the 1XI narrowly missed out and the match ended 2-1 to Edinburgh Academy With only 4 remaining players left from the previous season, the team had never played a game of hockey together as a unit. The team is filled with lots of exceptional hockey players and they are beginning to play as a team and gel together. After being given the red strips to play in shortly before the cup game they really came together to work for each other and work as the team, not just as individuals. This was amazing to see; we wish them good luck as they move forward into Scottish plate.
SHE PLAYED HER SOCKS OFF SOCKS WINNERS This year marks the beginning of the socks prize. This is given out after every match played by a school team. It is a pair of funky socks, given to a member of the team who has ‘worked their socks off’ so far, we have had many different ‘socks’ winners, for people who have worked exceptionally hard during matched.
OUR VALUES RESPECT Respect is a simple task that is often gone unthought and unnoticed. But it is simple acts of respect that will enhance sport life in the school, making all experiences as enjoyable as possible. It is a crucial aspect of sport as it helps us feel safe and lets us express ourselves, in a fun and safe environment. It is key that when we are playing sports in school that we not only respect our teammates, but also that we respect our coaches and respect our opponents. Having mutual respect with our teammates is crucial. It allows us to work hard for each other during matches, allowing us to have the most successful game. Having this respect also allows us to train and perform under a positive and constructive environment. This respect can be gained from simple tasks such as being inclusive, with all members of the team and being supportive to your whole team, being vocal about it, with shouts of encouragement coming from the side-line. Having respect for your coaches is also vital. Giving respect to your coaches allows them to make fun and exciting training sessions that are exceptionally beneficial to all involved. They need simple actions of respect, such as showing up to all the training sessions on time, with all of the right equipment, and participate with 100% enthusiasm and effort. This allows them the ability to plan the session and carry it out with the same amount of enthusiasm as you are putting in. Competitive sport at St George’s is a huge part of school life, which means that as a whole we compete against many different people. Giving our opposition respect is essential, for both teams to enjoy the match. You can show respect by acknowledging the opposition, saying congratulations, being proud of a win but being mindful of your competitors who have lost. Graciously take losses without making excuses. All of these are steps forward in showing the respect that the opponents deserve. As a school community we value ourselves respecting ourselves and others. This should be mirrored in the sports in the school, which will make sure that all training sessions and beneficial and fun, as well as being a safe environment to grow as a person and as a team.
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO… SATURDAY FIXTURES November and December are full of Hockey and Netball plus some tournaments and festivals. Please see our sport website for more information https://sport.stge.org.uk/
SCOTTISH CUP AND DISTRICT TOURNAMENTS HOCKEY Congratulations to our Hockey U15 team, moving into the next round of the Hockey Scottish Cup and our 1st XI playing on the plate playoffs. Both our 1stXI and Junior Hockey teams are kicking off their East District Campaign in November. NETBALL The U4, L5 and Senior teams are currently preparing to get a flying start in this year Netball Scottish Cup starting in November. Keep a look out for more information on when these teams will be in action.
ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY! Have a lovely mid-term break. Stay fit!
Katie