Feature on Sport

WATER POLO: SUCCESS AFTER SUCCESS

In 2020, the CGS Water Polo Programme witnessed outstanding success after success from the athletes and coaches with six students representing the ACT at the Australian Youth Water Polo Championships (AYC) in Brisbane, in January. Finishing 16th out of 35 teams in the U16s Girls Competition, Elanor Campbell (Year 10), Millie Jacobson (Year 10), and Elisabeth Milson-Mahy (Year 10) displayed spectacular performances.

In the U16s Boys Competition, CGS was as equally represented by Zach Newman (Year 10) and Jack Hawley (Year 10), and their team finished 8th in a strong competition of 32 teams. Finally, Lachlan Newman (Year 6) played in the ACT U14s team and performed well throughout the week. Following successes at the Elanor Campbell (Year 10), and Zach Newman (Year 10)

AYC, Zach was selected in the U16s Australian Water Polo Squad, with the potential to be selected at the FINA U16s World Water Polo Championships in Greece and the Pan Pacific Youth Water Polo Championships.

In February, the U14s Girls teams coached by Ms Wright, and the U16s Girls team coached by Mr Waser, headed to Wagga Wagga to compete in the NSW Water Polo Junior Country Championships; the U14s placed 5th and the U16s achieved an 8–7 win in the semi-finals, and subsequently went on to take home the silver in the finals. The weekend proved to be an informative and fun experience for the teams.

Continuing these achievements in March, Millie Jacobson (Year 10) was awarded the U14s Girls Representative Player of the Year for 2019.

Finally, the CGS U14s were proudly awarded champions of the ACTWP 2019/2020 Summer Competition after a terrific season with an 80% win record. The team consists of the following players: Savannah Bogar (Year 8), Gayathei Goel (Year 8), Lillian Healy (Year 7), Cecelia Jacobson (Year 7), Lauren Parton (Year 8), Domi Platis (Year 9), Jasmyn Richardson (Year 8), The team was coached by Ms Wright, who did a terrific job in developing them both in and out of the pool and achieving impressive results. Additionally, kudos also to Savannah Bogar, who was awarded the prestigious ACTWP MVP for the U14s Girls’ competition title.

SCORE! WATER POLO LANDS IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Following a pilot programme in Term 4 last year, CGS Water Polo introduced a programme to the Primary School in Term 1. The programme works in collaboration with Canberra Water Polo Academy with a goal of transitioning to play in the Senior School (Year 7).

Focused on fun and learning the fundamental rules over the term, students improved their water polo skills and developed swimming, passing, shooting, and overall fitness. Along with the high-quality external coaching provided, Senior School students have also assisted with in-water coaching. Having Senior students, Zoe Bond (Year 10), Millie Jacobson (Year 10), Victoria Spark (Year 9), and Angela Xie (Year 8).

participate in coaching this term was extremely helpful. CGS Water Polo is looking to enter its first U12s team in local competitions in the near future.

IMPRESSIVE SWIMMING

With swimming caps, goggles, and swimming costumes at the ready, CGS students embarked on a fun-filled day at the AIS Swimming Pool for the annual Primary School Swimming Carnival on Friday 6 March.

With over 120 races contested throughout the day, a huge congratulations goes to Edwards House who came out as the winning House.

While there was some super-speedy swimming on display throughout the Carnival, what was most impressive was the amount of support that students received from parents, CGS staff, and peers. Thank you also to all those who helped throughout the day—it is always encouraging to see engagement from the entire community at these events.

A special mention did go to the age Champions from U8s to U12s including Holly Bodman (Year 3), Noah Ashton (Year 3), Vivienne Gaffey (Year 3), Max Axiom (Year 3), Jack Williams (Year 3), Olivia Medina (Year 4), Benjamin Pedler (Year 5), Emily Bodman (Year 5), Joseph Mendis (Year 6), Charlotte Williams (Year 6), and Aidan Papas (Year 6).

INTER-HOUSE SWIMMING CARNIVAL KICKS OFF SENIOR HOUSE SHEILD

In Term 1, the Senior School Swimming Carnival kicked off the first of the annual House Shield events for 2020, with 1,200 students and staff descending upon the Belconnen CISAC Pool and CGS Pool. In good spirits— despite the cold and rain—the simultaneous carnivals occurred with over 140 swim events.

Despite starting the day in parallel at separate locations, we’re sure all could hear the roaring chants and enthusiasm. At lunch, the students on-campus joined those at CISAC for the last of the events. The 2020 Senior School Inter-House Swimming Carnival was hugely successful, the School congratulates everyone who participated. The Sportsmaster’s Cup (awarded to the House showing the best spirit and largest attendance on the day) was awarded to Jones, with Middleton and Blaxland coming runners up.

Congratulations also go to all of the age champions and winners of the major events and those swimmers who qualified for the ASC Inter-Schools and SSACT Championship.

CGS CRICKET RAISING THE BAT TO A TERRIFIC SEASON

The 2019/2020 Cricket season was an incredibly successful one for CGS in the Senior School. The School fielded eight competitive teams from U13s to Opens, with six of these teams making to the Grand Finals and a special mention made to the U13s sides.

Both teams made the Grand Final with an undefeated streak during the competition rounds. In a thrilling encounter, the As tied their match while the Bs, unfortunately, lost the Grand Final. The future looks exceptionally bright with many of these cricketers poised to contribute significantly over the coming seasons!

Year 12 student and 1st XI Captain, Hugh Stothart said ‘The CGS U15s performed extremely well with 1st in the T20s and 2nd in the two-dayers. The Opens also had a successful season with the 2nd XI one-day premiership being a highlight, despite the weather and sporting closures. The 2nd XI claimed the one-day premiership for the first time in over a decade’.

The 1st XI also proved to be a force to be reckoned with during the season, winning both the T20 and one-day ASC Championships. As a team, they faced some ups-and-downs throughout the season; however, the team invested their best and bagged two spectacular upset victories against the reigning champions. In January, the 1st XI also travelled to Sydney for the Trans-Tasman Cricket Festival, where the team members had the opportunity to play against others from Australia’s and New Zealand’s best cricketing schools, marking the 22nd anniversary of the Festival. The competing teams were Shore School, Kings College of Auckland, Christs College of Christchurch, and Canberra Grammar School.

Special congratulations are due to Nicholas Barclay (Year 12), Duncan Soros (Year 12), and David Waters (Year 10) who were selected for the ASC representative side this season.

Hugh continued to say ‘speaking of the season, the team pass on a huge thank you to all the coaches and managers for the hard work they put in and for helping them deal first-hand with the highs and lows of cricket! The parents have also been incredible, as their constant production of snacks and encouragement did not go unnoticed, as well as all the odd jobs performed to ensure that the weekend ran smoothly’.

BRUMBIES RUN SKILL SESSION

In February, Senior School Rugby students from both male and female teams attended a fast-paced skill development session led by CGS Rugby coaching staff, the Brumbies players, and Brumbies coaches.

Year 11 students Camille Frewan, Holly Abbey, and Robyn True were joined by about 50 students from the CGS Rugby Programme and said that it was an excellent opportunity to be able to acquire new skills.

Year 11 students Jaxon Jarvis, Charlie Crozier, and Alexander Morgan took a quick break from fine-tuning their technical skills for a quick photo with three players from the Brumbies and relished the opportunity to execute precision passing and decision-making in front of these elite players and coaches. These players and coaches provided real-time feedback during the drills.

MATT GITEAU CUP

Canberra Grammar School entered three teams in the 2020 Matt Giteau Cup held in March at the Campese Oval in Queanbeyan.

The Year 3/4 team and two teams from Year 5/6 enjoyed a beautiful day in the sun playing ‘the game they play in heaven’, with the Year 3/4 team taking a clean sweep in the pool stages with strong victories in each of their games.

The highlight throughout the day was their passing and rucking skills, along with strong defence. The team made it to the final, where they played a highly charged draw in a defence-dominated game. The CGS Aqua Year 5/6 team played with spirit and solid effort throughout the day, despite many players playing rugby for the first time. The Navy Year 5/6 team started the day with an emphatic victory. This was followed by two draws and a win, leading to a rematch in the grand final and concluding in an enjoyable day but an unfortunate defeat.