ANDERSON PHIL CLARKE VICKI

I believe sportsmanship is a life ethos for success in life, not just sport.

On reflection, I believe my time in Trinity's outdoor education activities gave me life skills which shaped my sporting career.

At home and at school, one of the lessons back in the day was, ‘do to others as you would have them do to you’.

I was never destined to be a scholar, though Trinity tried. My results in mainstream school sports were dismal as well. Relegated to the bench during football, I shifted to the cross country and athletics teams where performance was based on individual merit.

Professional sport requires individual focus, drive and discipline. I drifted into cycling by accident, achieved early results and was offered an opportunity to move to Europe to ride. I was thrown into the world of professional cycling without language or team support. I believe that without the above adage as a guide I would not have survived.

Like so many Trinity parents, we have had great delight over the years watching our son play sport. For us, it has been soccer, football, rowing, tennis, basketball and rugby.

There is something unique about the approach that Trinity Grammarians (OTGs and current) bring to the pitch, field, pool, court or boat. This creates a huge sense of pride from parents, which goes beyond the scoreboard, the fastest time or the highest number of goals.

It is their desire to be a great competitor, but an even greater desire to be great sportsmen to others and with each other. I have seen Trinity boys offer a hand up to an injured opponent they may have just tackled hard in rugby, witnessed rowing boys celebrate their win on the medals dais before respectfully acknowledging their competitors, I’ve observed our boys choking back tears of defeat at a devastating grand final footy loss, yet have the grace to honour their opponents with a handshake and a shoulder slap to their teammate who may have missed the game-changing final goal.

It’s a rich and unique value that sets our young people in green and gold apart, and one they’ll have forever and we are particularly thankful for.