Primary Highlights

Cross country is a challenging but rewarding sport as the girls discover more about themselves and the amazing feats they are capable of. A muddy May course saw our athletes running through ankledeep sludge. Not to be deterred, the runners showed great perseverance to place third in the 13- and 16-years age groups and first in the 14 years, which led to an overall third placing in the Joan Benson Percentage Cup and fourth in the aggregate cup. Meanwhile, the athletics team showed amazing commitment and determination across the training season to be rewarded with St Margaret’s best result in a decade, placing third overall and second in the percentage cup. Tennis is the only sport played all year round at the school. While the competition could not be finished, the Senior A and B teams remained undefeated throughout the season.

The hockey teams accomplished significant milestones this year. Three teams were fielded, with the Opens finishing in the top five, the Senior A placing second, only two points behind first, and the Junior A tied for third place. Badminton finishes off the sporting year and 63 junior players and 77 senior players took to the courts for the competition across the first two weekends of Term 4. The short season rarely clashes with other sports, providing a unique opportunity for girls of all ages and sporting backgrounds to wield a racquet in a fun and friendly environment.

St Margaret’s athletes are also very competitive in representative sport. Thirtyfour girls were selected across a variety of sports to represent Metropolitan North at the Queensland Secondary School Sport Championships and four students were selected to compete for Queensland at National Championships. Outside of the school sport association, we have had Australian representatives in futsal, football, artistic gymnastics, water polo and rowing.

Like many things for the past two years, Andrews Cup sport in the primary school experienced challenges and triumphs throughout the sporting year. If it wasn’t COVID restrictions spoiling the party, wet weather took its turn raining on the parade. Despite this, good humour, resilience and a healthy sense of perspective still made for a happy sporting year. The primary school participated in 10 sports in 2021, with swimming the most successful team sport. For the second consecutive year, St Margaret’s bought home the aggregate trophy and, for the first time, combined it with the Springfield Cup. Three new sports were added to the roster in 2021 – cricket and soccer as official Andrews Cup sports, together with a gala AFL competition in Term 4. The cricket competition was jointly hosted by St Margaret’s and St Aidan’s and the girls were excited to play in six matches across the day, complete with white picket fence, under glorious blue skies. The primary players enjoyed great success in the inaugural Andrews Cup soccer competition. They returned from the Toowoombabased carnival with a first place in the Junior As and third place in the Senior As.

The official Andrews Cup touch football competition was rained out twice, but the players eventually played in a friendly carnival showing off their skills learned in training. Likewise, heavy rains postponed the Andrews Cup tennis competition from Term 1 to Term 2. Eventually played in April, the girls enjoyed good successes across the teams.

The school fielded four teams in Andrews Cup Basketball with the Division D team gaining first place and Division C placing second. St Margaret’s cross country tied for third place in the aggregate cup with the 10- and 11-years age groups also gaining third place on the podium. St Margaret’s girls love their netball which is always contested with great enthusiasm. Ten primary school teams competed in club netball for the Downey Park Netball Association, with one of the 11 years team making it all the way to the grand final to be eventual runners-up. A COVID-delayed athletic competition didn’t dampen the girls’ enthusiasm when they finally took to the track and field. While not placing overall, many girls achieved personal bests and all enjoyed a great day out. The end of the year was a highlight with girls in Years 4 to 6 participating in an AFL gala day in Term 4 to finish off the sporting year, with plans for a repeat in 2022. Congratulations to all the primary sportswomen for a wellcontested sporting year. A special thanks to all the staff and coaches, who, despite myriad schedule disruptions, fashioned then refashioned complex arrangements to ensure the girls were given match experience.