Junior School PE and Sport

TAS Rugby Carnival

The Armidale School (TAS) Rugby Carnival is one of the most prestigious Junior Rugby competitions in Australia, bringing together schools from across the country to compete against each other, with over 1000 participants. For the Marist College Canberra under 12 rugby team, participating in this tournament was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and an experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. It should be noted that this year’s group is also the first from Marist to participate in the tournament.

The TAS Rugby Carnival provided an excellent opportunity for the Marist team to test themselves against some of the best Junior Club and school teams in the country. The tournament attracts teams from all over Australia, many of which have a strong rugby culture and tradition. This means that the standard of play is incredibly high, and the competition is fierce. Marist outdid themselves, in an extremely high division, winning two games and losing three: two with close margins. All the players would love to play the first game again, where the occasion got the better of us, but we still competed well. Results below:

• Marist v Waverley – 0-24 loss that was much tighter than the score suggests
• Marist v The Kings School – 29-0 victory in a dominant display
• Marist v Tamworth DJRU – 19-5 victory in a wonderful team performance
• Marist v Port Macquarie – 5-7 loss to the eventual winners
• Marist v St Augustine’s - 0-10 loss in a very tight match decided at the final whistle

In addition to what happened on the field, the TAS Rugby Carnival provided a unique opportunity for the Marist team to bond and build relationships with their teammates. The tournament is held over three days, during which time the team stayed together and experienced a ‘rugby tour’ environment. Our team spent a lot of time together, both on and off the field. This provided an opportunity for the players to get to know each other better, and to build trust and camaraderie that would translate into improved teamwork and performance on the field. It also provided a wonderful opportunity for parents to mingle and build new connections within the Marist community and across the other teams.

Finally, the TAS Rugby Carnival provided a sense of achievement and pride for the Marist College Canberra team. The tournament is highly competitive, and simply being invited to participate is a significant accomplishment. Our team performed well, and while they did not win the tournament, they were able to hold their own against some of the best young rugby players in the country. This provided a sense of achievement and pride for the players, and a motivation to continue to work hard and improve their skills. Thank you to the boys, their parents for making the trip and a special mention to Marty and Jo O’Brien, Laurie Miller and Matt Hill for their work with the team and Sonia and Jamie Dutkiewicz and Kelly and Anthony Hill for organising our social events.

A Marist tradition begins!

Craig McMahon
Head of Student Wellbeing – Junior School

South Weston Swimming

26 Junior School swimmers represented Marist on Wednesday 5 April at the South Weston Swimming Carnival. Staff members Clare Kelly and Ged Galvin attended and were extremely impressed by the boys efforts in the pool and their behaviour and support of each other when out of the pool. Marist College came first on the day, which was an outstanding achievement! Thank you to parents who assisted on the day.  Congratulations to the following boys on some outstanding results:

• George Salter 12 years - 1st 100m breast, 1st 50m breast, 2nd 100m Back, 3rd 100m free, 3rd 50m fly 
• Kian O’Connor 11 years - 1st 50m back, 1st 50m free, 1st 50m fly, 1st 50m breast, 2nd 100m breast, 3rd 100m back 
• Joseph Geysen 11 years - 2nd 50m back, 2nd 50m free, 3rd 50m fly back 
• Noah Johnston 10 years - 2nd 50m fly, 3rd 50m back 
• Harry Van de Meeberg 9 years - 3rd 50m breast 

Congratulations to the following boys who will now progress to the ACT Swimming Championships on May 9:

Noah Ball, Joseph Geysen, Lucas Golack, Noah Johnston, Kian O’Connor, George Salter, Harry Van de Meeberg and Xavier Williams. 

Information regarding this event will be sent home when available.  

Junior School Cross Country Carnival 

Our annual Cross Country Carnival will be held on Friday 19 May, Week 14 during Periods 3 and 4. Further information will be emailed to Junior School parents. The courses will be the same as 2022 with all boys walking the course during PE lessons. Parent helpers to assist supervision on the course will be called for.  

Ged Galvin
Junior School PE & Sport teacher