Earlier this year, hundreds of students from across the Sydney archdiocese came together at the Sydney Catholic Schools Autumn Championships to compete for the top spot in a range of sports.
Across the four sports for part of the competition, 8700 people tuned into the livestreams to get a sense of the action in real time.
Throughout the term, students across all conferences have been competing in a myriad of sporting competitions including European handball, touch football, water polo and basketball.
Each conference competed over a ten-week period to uncover the best team in each age group for every sport. The team who finished first in their conference then competed at the Sydney Autumn Championships to find the winning school among the entire Sydney Catholic Schools system.
The basketball competition was held at Concord Oval Recreation Centre and saw students across 16 schools going head-to-head.
Ultimately, the winners for the junior girls competition were Marist Sisters College (Woolwich) and for the junior boys was Aquinas Catholic College (Menai).
The intermediate girls competition was won by Clancy Catholic College (West Hoxton) and the intermediate boys competition was won by Marist Catholic College (North Sydney).
Finally, the senior girls competed and Trinity Catholic College (Auburn/Regent’s Park) came out on top, and as for the senior boys, St Charbel’s (Punchbowl) won the competition.
Kynan, a student at Clancy Catholic College (West Hoxton) noted the joys and opportunities that Sydney-wide competitions like this one offers.
“It’s an amazing day, really grateful to play the top schools for basketball and especially the competition,” he said.
Pat, a Year 12 student at De La Salle Catholic College (Revesby) echoed similar sentiments, telling The Catholic Weekly that, “It’s hectic to play against a high level of competitors and play for the school one last time.”
The European handball competition was slightly smaller than the other competitions, but nonetheless saw students putting in their all to end up on top.
Held at Five Dock Leisure Centre, four schools in a junior boys competition went head to head and saw Marist College (Eastwood) taking the number one spot, followed by Holy Cross (Ryde), Clancy Catholic College (West Hoxton) and finally Aquinas Catholic College (Menai).
Touch Football is a much-loved sport among students, and this was evident on the day of the championships, seeing students put in extraordinary effort at Holy Cross College Fields (Ryde) to win.
In the end, the competitions was won by Our Lady of Mercy College (Burraneer) for junior girls, Holy Cross College (Ryde), junior boys, Bethany Catholic College (Hurstville), intermediate girls, Holy Cross College (Ryde), for intermediate and senior boys, and Marist Sisters’ College (Woolwich) for senior girls.
The water polo competition was held at Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre and saw students eagerly jumping in the pool, ready to take on their competitor with fierce might.
The winners of the junior competition for girls were Our Lady of Mercy College (Burraneer), and for the boys, the spot was won by De La Salle Catholic College (Caringbah).
In the intermediate division, St Patrick’s Catholic College (Sutherland) took the winning spot for both girls and boys. St John Bosco College (Engadine) won the senior girls division, and the senior boys at Rosebank College (Five Dock) took the winning spot.
Overall, it was a day of great competition that saw students getting active and getting involved, united in their goals. For a full recap and breakdown of each sport, refer to the Sydney Catholic Schools sports website.