The Catholic Weekly 18 September 2022

SPORT Term3 Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Hockey Gala Day boosted participation levels of girls in sport with 8 of the 12 schools involved entering female teams into the Junior and Intermediate divisions. Setting the scenewith shin pads, mouth guards, and hair bows, MoorebankHockey Fieldswas the stage for the 7-a-side teams to fight shoulder to shoulder for awin. Convener of the two-week event, Justine Maroney, has been involvedwith NewSouthWales Combined Catholic Colleges Hockey for a considerable amount of time, yet hasn’t had the opportunity to develop athletes at an event like this, until now. “Girls have a highparticipation rate in hockey, sowe are going to try and lift the profile of the sport and get asmany kids playing as possible” she said. “A lot of girlswho are particularly athletic aren’t playing or are involved in any sport, but any time you give thema hockey stick you discover a lot of talent.” The SCSHockey event is a ‘first past the post’ style tournament. Resultswill be finalised next week and a championwill be crowned. We are sure to see a tough battle between the abundance of girls teams in the Junior and Intermediate divisionswith athletes showing us how to ‘play like a girl.’ THERE WAS blood, sweat, and chalk at the 2022 Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Gym- nastics Gala Day where com- petitors bent over backwards to secure a win in their level. As many gymnasts prac- tice day in and day out, SCS provided an elite opportunity for competition and to show- case ability at this inaugural event. Students were entered into different levels in order to match like-ability athletes and perform at their highest calibre possible. Athletes suited-up in le- otards and defied gravity as they faced off in various ap- paratuses. Female compet- itors went head to head on the vault, uneven bars, beam, and floor routines, while male gymnasts took on the pom- mel horse, rings, vault, par- allel bars, high bar, as well as floor. The overall champion for the women’s Level 3 went to Chrystalla Kospetas from St Ursula’s College. Level 4 was taken out by Eve Yik from Bethany Catholic College, and Gemma Tavares from St Ursula’s pointed her toes all the way to Level 5 champi- on. Tahlia Duff from Bethany Catholic College was awarded the Level 6 first overall plac- ing, and Level 7 was won by Pauline Gibbe from Clancy Catholic College. With only two female com- petitors entered into Level 8, the girls high scores were separated by only 0.05 points. Teana Bourke from St Ursu- la’s finished on 40.7 and Zoe Galea from St Clare’s College scared 40.75. The male gymnasts partic- ipating showed professional- ismandfirst-class techniques. Alexander Hripko from De La Salle College Ashfield competed in the astonishing level 9 class and exhibited stunning execution through- out the day. Brothers from BASEBALL AND softball players could call Kelso Park North home for a two-week Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) event. After a lack of opportunity to play the sport during the school year, SCS saw a chance to knock it out of the park and create a com- petition for Intermediate boys and girls that have “been playing for 10 years or have stepped onto the diamond for the first time competitively.” Convener, Declan Dono- hue, highlighted the direction SCS is wanting to go. “Up until this event stu- dents just had to try out for the New South Wales Com- bined Catholic Colleges team. Now they’ve got a bit of structure and next year we want to build an even better spectacle. “Originally we were going to have Junior, Intermediate, and Senior divisions in soft- ball and baseball. Because ¾ Tasmyn Haynes Stepping up to the plate First Gymnastics Gala Day The ups, downs, and the upside-downs of SCS gymnastics ¾ Tasmyn Haynes ATHLETICS HOCKEY ¾ Tasmyn Haynes Sweep like a girl SCHOOL SPORTS Overall winning school of the 2022 SCS Gymnastics Gala Day was St Ursula’s College, Kinsgrove. PHOTO: SUPPLIED there has been wet weather ground closures we have only been able to go ahead with the intermediates this time.” With nine women’s soft- ball and six men’s baseball teams, competitive play and spirited rivalries were bound to form. Deafening roars of support were coming from dugouts across the park and coaches yelled nuggets of wisdom like “If your catcher and pitcher know what they’re doing then you’re half way there” and “it’s accuracy, not how hard you throw it!” “The boys are taking it real- ly seriously and are commit- ted. “Marist College Kogarah are decked out in the prop- er gear and their coach has played baseball for about 30 years. De La Salle Ashfield also look strong and have a fast pitcher,” Declan com- mented. The softball team from St Ursula’s College gushed their appreciation for the day, with one player saying “I played in primary school but then I had to stop because my school didn’t have a permanent team, so getting to play it again is so much fun.” The stand out girl’s teams were St Clare’s College Waverley and Marist Catholic College Penshurst. Baseball teams Marist Col- lege Kogarah and De La Salle Ashfield have hit a home run into next week’s Grand Final. The SCS Baseball and Soft- ball Tournament has been a dream turned reality, the magnitude of which is sure to grow in years to come. BASEBALL & SOFTBALL St Clare’s Waverley, Marist College Penshurst, Marist College Kogarah & De La Salle Ashfield head into next week’s GRAND FINAL GYMNASTICS St Ursula’s College, Kingsgrove Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) Gymnastics Gala Day WINNERS Main, Marist College Kogarah pitching in baseball. PHOTO: MARIST COLLEGE KOGARAH. . Inset, St Clare’s batting in softball. PHOTO: MALCOLM SOUTER. This is the first time there’s real- ly been a Sydney Catholic Schools Softball and Baseball Tournament” Declan Donohue Rosebank College entered the gymnastics with Hayden Reeves taking out Level 5, and Callum Reeves in Level 4. The overall winning school of the 2022 SCS Gymnastics Gala Day was awarded to St Ursu- la’s College, however all ath- letes proved that to win you must combine the good with the bad; How good you are, with how bad you want it.