Sport and Activities
MR TONY TREGASKIS, HEAD OF SPORT AND ACTIVITIES Well, what a tumultuous year we have had! Who would have thought in 2019 that the world would be turned upside down by a pandemic? Borders shut, places in lockdown, shortages of toilet paper, restrictions on gatherings, people standing a minimum of 1.5 meters apart and the sporting world thrown into chaos with historic events being cancelled, like Wimbledon, and postponed, like the Tokyo Summer Olympics and the Tour de France. It wasn't just the big-ticket sporting events; a number of local, Regional, Queensland and Australian School Sport events were also axed. Community sport suffered, with some seasons failing to make it through to finals while other sports cancelled entire seasons and some sports came up with revised competitions, with significant restrictions on numbers at events, social distancing, regular use of hand sanitiser and disinfecting of equipment. Our girls agonised with all of these but still they craved the physical activity, competition and friendly social interaction that sport supplies. The Interhouse sporting calendar that Fairholme College supplies yearly has been significant in developing in our students a strong culture based on participation, loyalty to their House and often fierce rivalry. The energy and passion from a March Past, Boarders verse Day Girls or a Tug ‘o’ War is something that needs to be seen to be believed; even bottled. Given the disruption to the Fairholme College sporting calendar, our sport staff and the school believed that it was highly important for our girls to still be involved in these activities in a COVID-safe environment. The continuation of Fairholme's strong culture was evident in our COVID Cup Virtual Cross Country and then the COVID Cup Athletics Carnival. There were no records, no age champions, no staff-versus-student relays and, unfortunately, no parents or spectators. What we did have was passion, gusto, heaps of participation, energy, House loyalty and a fierce rivalry for the 2020 COVID Cup; hopefully for the one
and only year. Fairholme College set the tone for another outstanding year of achievements in Sport, including being named Sports Darling Downs Secondary School of the Year for 2019. Unfortunately, within two months a significant number of our athletes' hopes were dashed. The number of School Sport representative players dropped significantly from previous years, as many sports simply had no pathway in which to compete. For those that did have an opportunity, they represented Fairholme proudly. Remarkably, 53 girls represented the Darling Downs and 8 were selected in Queensland teams. TEAM HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS • Senior and Junior Vicki Wilson number 1 teams were invited to State finals. The Junior team finishing 9th. • Queensland All Schools Touch Football – U13 and Open teams made the finals. • Toowoomba Secondary School Sport Swimming Champions INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS • Basketball: 3 Darling Downs Representatives • Cricket: 5 Darling Downs Representatives • Equestrian: 4 Queensland Representatives • Golf: 1 Darling Downs Representative • Hockey: 2 Darling Downs Representatives • Netball: 6 Darling Downs Representatives
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Rugby Union 7s: 4 Representatives Swimming: 9 Darling Downs Representatives Tennis: 1 Darling Downs Representative Touch: 7 Darling Downs Representatives Triathlon: 11 Darling Downs and 3 Queensland Representatives Track and Field: 1 Queensland Representative Volleyball: 3 Darling Downs Representatives Water Polo: 2 Darling Downs Representatives Medals at Darling Downs Swimming: 20 Gold, 12 Silver, 5 Bronze Medals at National Track and Field Championships: 1 Bronze AFL Queensland Schools Cup competition cancelled
BASKETBALL • 3 Friday Night TSSS teams – competition was cancelled at Semi-Finals. All 3 teams (Yr 7/8, Yr 9/10 and Yr 11/12) made it through to Semi-Finals. • U18 Darling Downs Armstrong Automotive Basketball Challenge Champions • Year 7/8 and Year 10 Darling Downs Armstrong Automotive Basketball Challenge cancelled. • Darling Downs Representatives: 1 in 10-12yrs and 1 in 13-15yrs competitions CHESS • Teams and individuals competing at Toowoomba schools tournament
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