SPORT
Basketball
This weekend we will have eight teams competing in the Basketball Tasmania Northern High Schools Tournament. There are five boys and three girls teams across two divisions. These are combined teams of Year 7/8 and Year 9/10 students. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff, coaches and parents who will be assisting with these teams over the weekend. This competition is part of a state-wide event being in the North, North West and Southern regions. The top three teams from each Division 1 competition in each region will then meet for the State Championships on 26-27 November.
A summary of the games can be found here – Basketball Tasmanian Northern High Schools Tournament – rostered games. The majority of Sunday’s game times will be determined on placings from the Saturday games. It would be great to have as many supporters as possible at our games, please note that there is no cost to enter each of the venues.
We wish all our teams the best of luck for their games and look forward to an exciting weekend of Basketball.
Natalie Good
Director of Basketball
Clay Target
This week the Scotch Oakburn clay target team was invited out to the Northern Midlands Sporting Clays range near Longford. Sporting clays involves multiple throwing machines which send the targets along the ground, straight up in the air, and across from the sides at a variety of speeds and elevations. Students from Launceston Grammar’s clay target team also attended. It was a challenging but enjoyable session for the students, with the unpredictable nature of the targets testing everyone’s reflexes and technique.
Mark Hassell
Person-in-Charge of Clay target
Equestrian Games
The Pony Club of Australia held its National Prince Philip Mounted Games in Canberra last month. The event saw teams from across the country compete in this fast-moving, exciting and skilled equestrian event, and we had the pleasure of being chosen to represent Tasmania. Our other team members were Ilanna McDougall, Ruby Hirst (past student) and Sarah Shelveton.
The event is more than just an opportunity to ride, it also allows you to make friends and connections with people from across the country, who share a love of horses and equestrian challenges. Mounted games consist of various challenges against the clock, ranging from bending your horse in between poles, jumping off your horse to grab a ball, and then vaulting back on at high speed, or grabbing an object off a barrel and putting it onto another barrel. All are done at the maximum possible speed and in adjacent lanes, adding to the pressure as you can see how your competitors are faring. These games are all about horses and riders working together. Another challenge is that our team didn’t take our own horses to the event, and we used loaned ponies, which meant trying to “learn” the horse in a short time and working out how to perform as a team.
The senior team rode first and Tasmania performed strongly to finish second. The junior team went the next day and there were some nerves at first, and the team did some switching of horses to try and get the best combinations. Our tyre race was our best event for the day, with our tactics working extremely well, resulting in first place. After the final race, we were placed fourth overall, with a great job done by all team riders, the coach and manager, as well as the supportive senior riders. It was a day of mixed emotions, but we all loved it.
Our trip was more than just horse riding, we also toured around Canberra, taking in the amazing landmarks and sites. We visited Parliament House, the Royal Mint and the Australian Institute of Sport.
Ashlea Rees and Meg Kilby
Year 9 and Year 8 Students