Sport

Welcome back, to all new and returning Churchie boys, for  Term 1 GPS sports and activities. The holidays were a busy time for the cocurricular programmes, with local and international tours, volleyball and cricket weeks and swimming camps and clinics. This week we leap straight into GPS round one home competitions, beginning with debating against Brisbane Grammar on Thursday followed by cricket, volleyball and rowing on Saturday. We are anticipating a vigorous competition and encourage everyone to come with true Churchie spirit and support our teams.

Rowing

Churchie are Queensland state champions! After an intense two-week training block, including our rowing camp on the Maroochy River, the Churchie First VIII won the Under 21 Men’s VIII at the Queensland State Championships.

Holding off crews from fellow GPS schools and a strong boat from Commercial Rowing Club, the boys capped off an already impressive state campaign. Sam Williams finished fifth in the Under 19 single scull, putting him in great contention to be selected for the Queensland State Team. In a thrilling finish, Jez Pini and Tom Taylor claimed bronze in the Under 19 pair, and Campbell and Spencer Parkes had a fantastic result of fourth in the Under 17 double scull.

While our First VIII was at the regatta, our full squad had their January Rowing Camp at Maroochy Waterfront. The Seniors joined us for six days while our Years 9 and 10 squads had four days, respectively. Most impressive was the Year 9’s second ergo trial where all boys improved by 5 to  10 seconds, setting them up for a great first regatta season.

Tyson Sholl
Director of Rowing

Swimming

Welcoming back, everyone, to recommence our 2024 Churchie GPS Swimming programme. We have enjoyed seeing everyone back on the pool deck as we prepare for the season ahead.

Please note we have no pre-meet on Friday this week (26 January) due to the Australia Day public holiday. Our first pre-meet will be the Churchie Invitational against The Southport School and Brisbane State High School on Friday 2 February for both the junior and senior squads.

Please find below some important information for your action and review:

• Monday breakfast service payment
• 2024 GPS season key dates
• Junior pool party fundraiser save the date – Wednesday 31 January (More information to be released soon)
• Support Group Committee meeting – Monday 29 January in Brennan Pavilion

Senior Swim Camp and Junior Day Clinic

The weather events of December 2023 on the Gold Coast sparked some apprehension about the annual trip to the Gold Coast Performance Centre, but the weather subsided and the group of 36 enjoyed two days of team building. They benefited from several pool training sessions, the Southport Aqua Park, an amazing race and nutritionist workshops as well as our friendly race meet hosted by The Southport School. Thank you to all boys who attended and the staff who supported the boys while away from their families. The Gold Coast Performance Centre must be very quiet without the constant laughter and chatter from the boys. Next year we will be expanding numbers to accommodate an increase in demand. Photos from the camp are available in Pixevety (Churchie photo platform).

The Junior Day Clinic reported nothing but happy faces as the boys conquered the training, skills testing and the infamous Base Zero rock wall. A great surprise was the visit from 2024 Captain of Swimming Will Shepherd-Smith and current bronze medal international athlete Thomas Pattison. Will and Thomas shared their knowledge and tips for GPS success in the coming years. Thank you to coaches Liam and Richard for the time spent developing and educating the youth of our programme.

Lastly, congratulations to the eight Churchie boys who competed in the 2023 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Championships during the school holidays.

Below is a quick summary of individual successes:

• Maxwell Cunningham – gold and bronze medals in 14 year old events and a new record.
• Charlie Wehl – competed in 16 year old 100 m and 50 breaststroke events.
• Spencer Kilimnik – competed in five 15 year old events in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke.
• Lachlan Evans – competed in eight 14 year old events in butterfly, individual medley (IM), breaststroke and freestyle.
• Boe Duncan – competed in 14 year old club relay team
• Fin Pollack – competed in 16 year old club relay team
• Jayden Soh – competed in 14 year old 50 m breaststroke
• William Shepherd-Smith – gold, silver and bronze medals in 16 year old  events.

We are very excited to see these performances flow into our GPS Swimming season and peak at the GPS Championships on Friday 1 March.

Jaye Finocchiaro
Director of Swimming

Cricket

Churchie Cricket New Zealand Tour

The beginning of the Term 4 school holidays saw 21 boys and four coaching staff depart Brisbane for Auckland for the inaugural Churchie Cricket New Zealand Tour. Across 13 days, the boys travelled across the Auckland and Northern Districts regions of New Zealand, with both teams on tour playing five matches against some of the country’s top cricketing schools, as well as enjoying some of New Zealand’s top tourist attractions.

On the field, the Churchie Blue team secured two wins, in matches against St Peter’s School Cambridge and Tauranga Boys College. The win against St Peter’s School was especially impressive as they had qualified as finalists for the New Zealand Secondary Schools National Championships. The team also played Westlake Boys High School, who were Auckland’s premiership-winning school in 2023 and finished runners up at the National Championships. The Churchie Grey team won their fixture against St Peter’s School as well.

Off the field, the boys on tour enjoyed numerous activities, including visiting Waiheke Island, Auckland Sky Tower, the All Blacks Experience, Hobbiton Movie Set and Rotorua’s Skyline gondola and luge rides.

The boys were an enormous credit to Churchie on the tour and did themselves proud throughout the trip. Thank you to the tour staff and coaches: Brayden Hartley, James Patmore, Matt Preston and Angus Youngr.

First XI Sunshine Coast Camp

The Churchie Cricket First XI squad ramped up their preseason preparations for the upcoming season with their annual Sunshine Coast camp from 8 to 12 January.

The boys enjoyed a fantastic week of preparation, with multiple high-intensity training sessions, fitness sessions, four matches against the Sunshine Coast under 19s squad, and multiple recreational activities, including the highly sought-after First XI Masterchef trophy.

On the field, the boys played some excellent cricket, winning both 50-over fixtures and one 20-over fixture against a highly talented Sunshine Coast team, which included multiple players with first and second-grade experience in the Brisbane Premier Grade Competition. This was outstanding preparation ahead of the season opener against Brisbane Grammar School.

Well done to all boys for their hard work throughout the week, and thank you to the staff members of the camp: Peter Drinnen, Alister McDermott, Jack Pratt and James Patmore for being.

Lord Taverners success

Congratulations to Churchie First XI squad members, Daniel Boreham, Zac Griggs, Sean Hansen, Angus Storen and Alex Walduck, who were members of the University of Queensland team that won the Brisbane Premier Grade Lord Taverners Under 17s Premiership. The team defeated Gold Coast by four wickets in the grand final, with Alex Walduck top-scoring with 46 in the match.

James Patmore
Director of Cricket

Volleyball

In the first week of the December break, five volleyball teams from Years 7 to 11, along with coaching staff and families, had an unforgettable time on the Gold Coast, competing in the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup. Despite each day being a challenge, with multiple games and duties (not to mention the heat and traffic on the M1), all teams showed tremendous spirit and camaraderie.

Our young men competed against the best schools in the country and displayed school pride, teamwork and, most importantly, the joy of playing volleyball. 

The overall placements for each division were:

• Year 7 Div 1: 14th place 
• Year 8 Div 1: 5th place 
• Year 9 Div 1: 14th place 
• Year 10/11 Div 1: 2nd place 
• Year 12 Div 1: 1st place.

It’s worth mentioning that our Years 10 and 11 teams consisted of predominantly Year 10 athletes competing in the age group above. The schools in the top division are the best in the nation, and we couldn’t be prouder of not only their result but also their overall development, growth, and resilience throughout this tough competition. 

This Saturday is the day we have all been waiting and training for, the start of the 2024 GPS volleyball season with Churchie hosting Brisbane Grammar School for round one. This round promises to be a thrilling showcase of talent, teamwork, and sportsmanship from our brand new 5B and 6B teams to the First VI. 

After finishing 2023 as GPS premiers and the top programme, we have a tough opening round against a very strong Brisbane Grammar School. All of our teams have been training hard throughout Term 4 and their summer camp and are fit and ready to compete. 

We encourage all volleyball fans and supporters to come and cheer for our team. The players have put in countless hours of practice and are eager to showcase their abilities on the court. Your presence and support will undoubtedly make a difference in their performance. 

Carrie Mill
Director of Volleyball

Chess

Welcome to Churchie Chess, 2024. Our chess community started 2024 with excellent New Zealand and Australian National and Age Championships results. Sravan Renjith (Year 11), our premier team board one player, competed in the New Zealand Chess Open National Championships, winning the blitz tournament and coming third overall. These results qualify Sravan to represent New Zealand in the World Rapid and Blitz Championship, where he can play against the likes of Magnus Carlsen. His third place in the National Championship should also see him selected to represent New Zealand in the World Chess Olympiad later this year in Budapest, Hungary.

Our younger students also held their own at Adelaide’s Australian National Junior Chess competitions. Matthew Jia (Year 3) won his division and is the Champion under eight years of the Australian Champion, winning eight of nine games during the tournament. 

Louis Wang came second in the Under 10, winning eight of nine games and was joined by Zeqi Xing, who also finished in the top ten in the Under 10s. Jayden Ooi is currently placed second in the Under 18 tournament at the time of writing, as are several of our keen chessmen of Churchie.

Our chess training programme starts in week two, with Chess Academy on Tuesday 30 January 2024, from 3:05 to 5:30 pm, and our general training in The Centenary Library on February 1 from 3:10 to 5 pm.

This year has had a stellar start, and we are looking forward to a magnificent jubilee year where our young men create lasting friendships, explore the extent of their ability, and enjoy the successes of our very talented group of chess players.

Max Condon
Director of Chess

Basketball

This year will be another fantastic year for Churchie Basketball. After the overall programme first-place finish in the GPS competition and a  bronze medal-winning finish for the First V in the Champion Basketball School of Queensland tournament, the year ahead will once again see Churchie in its well-earned place atop programmes in the GPS, the state and, indeed, the country.

Congratulations to Oskar Olechnowicz, Kurt Siwek and Noah Kirk, who achieved the pinnacle of recognition in the state, being selected in the Queensland Under 18 Basketball team to compete at the National Championships in the upcoming Easter school holidays. Additionally, Noah was also selected to attend the Australian camp for boys 16 and Under this week at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

We look forward to seeing many boys start the year by returning to their Vikings Club Basketball teams, as well as developing their game in the Vikings Basketball Academy and Churchie Hoops programmes. These programmes are still open for registration, so get in fast to secure a spot by going to the myChurchie basketball page.

Aaron Harding
Director of Basketball

Strength and Conditioning programme

The Churchie Strength and Conditioning programme is available to any student in Years 7 to 12. Not just for students in a sporting programme, all boys are encouraged to attend for their health and wellbeing. All sessions are supervised by at least two university-qualified coaches who have a keen interest in junior athletic development. All sessions have age-matched programming to ensure students’ maturation is considered when exercises and programmes are prepared for the young men.

Below is the link to myChurchie with the current Term 1 gym schedule attached, new parents are encouraged to follow the Churchie Strength and Conditioning page as updates about session modifications as well as educational pieces are posted.

If you have any questions or queries about participating in the Strength and Conditioning programme, please feel free to contact me at Jarrad.Boswell@churchie.com.au.

Jarad Boswell
Director of Athletic Development

Trent Goodrick
Head of Cocurricular