Strengthening our bonds SPORT

Sport has long been a vehicle for strong bonds and connection for people of all ages, especially for our students in their crucial adolescent years.

Gsv

It has been pleasing to see that participation in GSV weekly sport has continued to increase again in 2023. Regardless of skill levels, students across all year levels are valued in their contribution to the team and the broader sporting program. For our Year 7 students, throughout Term 1, GSV has provided a key opportunity for them to find connections with their year level, with their Year 8 peers and to connect with what it means to represent Strathcona.

Carnival sports such as swimming, diving, cross country and athletics have been important events across 2023 so far. Our students have competed exceptionally well whether it be at GSV carnivals or at our House carnivals. The House carnivals provide opportunities for our leaders to promote and build confidence of our students in participating in sport, as well as giving all those who participate a chance to earn points for their house whilst giving their best.

We are looking forward to continuing to see our students develop their skills, form new friendships and memories across the remainder of 2023 throughout GSV carnival and weekly sports.

CO-CURRICULAR

Co-curricular opportunities are some of the highlights of our students’ time at Strathcona. Whilst our students often achieve medals and higher recognition for their achievements, how we define success for each student, team, crew or squad can look very different depending on the sport and depending on the individual, team, or squad goals.

For some, it is about improving their technique, their synergy, or their results from the start of the season to the end and for others it can be about the enjoyment of the sport as a whole and the friendships that they can make within each of the programs.

In particular, we have had many students achieve some outstanding results across our summer cocurricular programs of Rowing and Kayaking. These students dedicated a significant amount of time to their craft and we are very proud of all of our students, whether they received a medal, fell short of their goals or achieved their own definition of success. Both of these programs continue to go from strength to strength with increasing numbers and students choosing to pursue these sports and the many different opportunities that they present.

Our winter sports of Saturday Netball and Snowsports are once again thriving. Within our Saturday Netball program in particular, the opportunities for our students to learn and grow are varied and extremely valuable. Our student coaches are able to learn vital skills in coaching, leadership, planning and critical thinking. In addition, our student umpire numbers are continuing to increase with many students taking on the challenge of learning this skill which can ultimately help them in a range of areas of their lives. This is all in addition to what our students achieve through participating as part of our teams. We are very proud of all of our students who take on the challenge of Saturday Netball each and every season.

Our Snowsports community have once again had the opportunity to continue to build connections across the entire Strathcona community. With Junior School and Senior School students both involved, our students and families are able to enjoy the challenge of the Interschools competition, supporting each other and achieving their own success.

We love that sport provides the vehicle for a range of links to our broader Strathcona community and this has been evident across 2023.

KEIRA WILLS Head of Sport