Sport

Churchie hosted a considerably successful home round of GPS sports and activities this week, against the strength of BBC. Rowing continued their season build-up towards Head of the River on Saturday 9 March. Swimming hosted the meet at Chandler last Friday ahead of this week’s GPS Swimming Championships.

After another exciting GPS Round 5 last weekend, we invite everyone to see the weekend’s results summary via myChurchie – GPS Sports and Activities.

Cricket

Saturday saw the majority of cricket teams take on BBC across the two schools’ venues.

It was the most successful round of the season so far, with Churchie winning 15 (with one draw) of the 20 fixtures played on Saturday against BBC, while supplementary match wins resulted in 19 wins from all matches on the day,  an exceptional day results.

All previously undefeated teams kept their unbeaten runs intact led by the First XI’s impressive bonus point seven-wicket win at Main Oval. Also, 7A, 9A, 10A and the Third XI secured comfortable wins to maintain their winning streaks.

It was also an incredibly impressive round of individual performances, with two centuries and three five-wicket hauls. With the bat, Henry Peters (100*, 11A) and Bobby Winson (102*, 9C) both raised the bat in outstanding innings. With the ball, Sam Wilkins (5/9, Second XI), Henry Brown (6/13, 11B) and Daniel Clark (5/8, 9B) all had standout days in collecting five-wicket hauls. Well done to those players, along with our other standout contributors for the round, who are listed below:

• Connor Rudman First XI 62*
• Sam Wilkins Second XI 5/9
• Henry Peters 11A 100*
• Henry Brown 11B 6/13
• Liam Stieper 10A 54
• Thomas Kennedy 10B 76
• Daniel Clark 9B 5/8
• Bobby Winson 9C 102*
• Shoubhit Jain 8A 79*
• Archie Jackson 7A 87

The First XI produced its best performance of the season against BBC, excelling with both bat and ball to come away with the bonus point win. BBC won the toss and batted. However, disciplined bowling from Churchie, led again by left-arm orthodox duo Henry Hillier (3/25) and Rupert Bignall (2/29), forced BBC to settle on a moderate total, with their final five wickets falling for just four runs and being dismissed for 153. In reply, a 50-run opening stand between Connor Rudman (62*) and Angus Storen (31), set the tone in the run chase, before Captain Jayden Draper scored a classy 32* to bring his side home.

The win sees Churchie open up a bigger gap on the rest of the competition, along with fellow unbeaten teams Ipswich Grammar School and The Southport School. With the three schools all set to face each other over the next three weeks, it sets up an enthralling end to the First XI season.

This weekend sees fixtures take place against Brisbane State High School.

James Patmore
Director of Cricket

Debating

A lot has happened in the debating world in the last two weeks. With another two rounds of GPS debating completed, our Year 10 and Senior A debating teams having successful first-round showings at the QDU Secondary Schools Debating Competition, and an outstanding representation at the Queensland State Debating Team trials, there’s much to celebrate in this edition.

On Friday 16 February, I was delighted to take nine of our teams to Toowoomba Grammar School, where our Years 5 and 6 debaters participated in their maiden debate. I was thrilled to watch the strong rebuttal and responsiveness of the 5.1 team on the topic ‘that all children should play for at least two hours a day’, and to see them win their first debate left me with the impression that we have a truly bright future in the activity. Likewise, our Senior A team was responsive to the style of adjudicators and gracious to our hosts in an outstanding 3–0 unanimous win. Congratulations to the 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 8.1, 9.1 and Senior A teams for helping us leave with a 7 from 9 win ratio!

On Wednesday 21 February, the QDU debaters kicked off with a surprise short-prep round also. The QDU is a challenging, surprising competition that requires our boys to adapt to the differences in styles and argumentation approaches across all educational sectors in South-East Queensland. I’m very proud of the 10.1 and Senior A boys for their comfortable wins. This week, our 11.1, 9.1 and 9.4 debaters also commence their competition, and I wish them the best of luck here also.

Round five of GPS Debating was always going to be a challenge, with BBC building a reputation as a strong and unpredictable school at the ‘thought sport.’ Indeed, the evening was a challenge for us also. While we came out as clear victors, with 13 of 20 wins, including Senior A’s split-panel win, the ratio likely also reflects the challenge posed by our topics. I want to especially commend the 11.1, 11.2 and Senior B teams, who contended with the topic ‘that we oppose the gamification of military training (e.g. the integration of military controls, achievements, leaderboards, graphics into game design and mechanics)’. If you’re confused, don’t worry. We saw so many definitional challenges on the night indicated that boys could have rightly debated about either the gamification of the military or the militarisation of gaming, based on the syntax of the topic! Regardless, well done to them for rising to the challenge, and especially well done to the 11.2s with their first win of the season (and with only three men in the room to prep that topic).

Finally, it was an honour on Sunday 22 February to watch Dario Lim, Caelan Smith and Felix Mutinelli deliver their final trial speeches in the selection of the Queensland State Debating Team. Congratulations to Caelan and Felix on their inclusion in the 2024 team, and we will be eagerly awaiting updates when they head off to the National Schools Debating Competition in May. Additionally, I want to congratulate all three boys for the collegiality, friendliness and fun that they have played a role in creating in the broader debating community. It was so rewarding to see the Top 12 speakers, regardless of school, gender or background, engage with each other in camaraderie and supportiveness, and it validates my hypothesis that goodness and kindness are necessary criteria to be top-level speakers.

I cannot wait to see what will be a high-quality round of debating this Thursday in the Round 6 blockbuster event at Brisbane State High School – ensure you check the myChurchie page for times, transport details and important information.

Rebecca Hewitt
Director of Debating

Volleyball

Round five against the BBC proved to be an eagerly anticipated and highly competitive event. BBC demonstrated exceptional tenacity and determination, creating a finals-like atmosphere throughout all matches. The weather added to the intensity, with the action on the court heating up alongside the temperature. Once again, Churchie Volleyball showcased its prowess, emerging as the overall winner of the day.

We extend our gratitude to Charlie Autcher, Jett Mills and Jack Cartmell from the Second VI who exhibited great dedication by participating in one of the most challenging Firsts games I have witnessed. Additionally, I acknowledge the immense contribution of Kevin Tan and James Moody, two Year 9 boys who stepped up and fulfilled their duties on the lines for the First VI in what can only be described as a heated battle.

While there were many exceptional performances throughout the day, it is difficult to overlook the outstanding coaching of Manny Samios and his 9B team. Their epic second set, with a score of 32–30, secured the victory for Churchie.

In terms of our standing in the GPS, Churchie currently holds eight guaranteed premierships and seven additional premierships that will be decided in Round 6. We have achieved an impressive record of 109 wins and 21 losses, with 30 ‘A team’ wins and 9 ‘A team’ losses. Our overall points have secured us the first-place position, while we are closely competing with Nudgee for the first-place position in A-team points. Furthermore, our unbeaten Year 9 age group has showcased exceptional performance.

We invite everyone to join us in celebrating our remarkable season at the End of Season Presentation. Early Bird ticket prices are available until Friday 8 March in Week 7.

Our coaches have been tirelessly dedicated both on and off the court this week. We encourage you to stay tuned to the Volleyball page to catch up on the mid season reports from each team’s coach. Will we see another video from our innovative and musically talented head coach Ben Wasley? Cham, our outstanding Second VI coach and aspiring ‘Swiftie’, had this to say:

Swifties may all be flocking to the southern states to catch a glimpse of their idol perform live, and one can hardly blame them for doing so. But up here in the sunshine state, the Churchie Second VI have been delivering scintillating performances week in, week out, which would arguably give Taylor a run for her money. There may be a slight disparity in the size of the crowds, but the way audiences have been left feeling after witnessing both artists perform is nothing short of mesmerising. The similarities don’t end there, however, as throughout the first half of the season, each member of the Second VI has embodied and exemplified a Taylor Swift era, as I shall now describe.

Please visit the Volleyball page on myChurchie to read the full season breakdown.

Carrie Mill
Director of Volleyball

Swimming

On Friday 23 February at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, the crowd witnessed a tsunami of blue and grey, with over 110 boys competing in the Churchie-hosted final GPS pre-meet of the 2024 Season.

Coaching staff congratulated the boys as faster times were recorded again in admirable efforts towards Championship team considerations. Special mention to Henry Majer and Sebastian Fitton for receiving last week’s Captain of Swimming awards for their commitment to the programme. Post pre-meet, the boys finished the season as a unified group on Monday and enjoyed breakfast while our Head Coach and Junior Coach announced the highly appreciated final GPS championship team.

Congratulations to the announced 2024 GPS Senior and Junior teams that will represent Churchie on Friday. The teams and allocated events are available on myChurchie. For the remainder of the week, only the GPS Team will continue to train in preparation for Friday.

The Swimming Support Group is busy arranging the Awards Presentation function and we would love to see all families attend to celebrate a truly amazing season.

Lastly, we thank the Years 7 and 12 cohort of students who will be travelling to Chandler and supporting our boys from the stands. For those who cannot make it to the event, you can watch all the action on the GPS Livestream online; the link will be available on myChurchie – Swimming.

Thank you to all boys for your commitment and investment for the 2024 Season; it has been another epic journey for the past twenty weeks and we appreciate your commitment.

Jaye Finocchiaro
Director of Swimming

Rowing

Regatta Four of the GPS calendar was hosted by State High and featured the opportunity for Year 8 to race prior to the GPS competition. As Churchie doesn’t boat in Year 8, the delayed start allowed us time to recognise the boys selected in the 2024 First VIII with the presentation of their travel polos. Head of Cocurricular Mr Trent Goodrick and Head Coach Stuart Paton presented the nine boys to the rowing community.

Year 9 had their best regatta yet, with several podium finishes, including victories for the Division 6, 7 and 10 crews.

Our Year 10 Division 3 crew continued their undefeated run and backed this up with first place in the 500 metre sprint for the second round of racing. The Year 10 fourths also had their second win of the season with a new crew combination and followed that strong performance with second place in the sprint round.

This weekend we boated a full Year 11 Second VIII for the first time, this was following persistent recruiting by the boys in the boat to make sure they could race in their actual boat class. It also marked the first race for our Year 11 Third VIII, which consists of Year 10 boys. They had a great first regatta, finishing fifth in their race in a respectable time for their first race in an eight.

The Open crews faced a tough regatta while juggling school commitments this week. We have our minicamp at the Dam post regatta this week where we can put the final touches on our boats before we begin the taper into Head of the River.

This week, Regatta Five will provide a dress rehearsal for Head of the River with only one round of racing. This is our final opportunity to fine-tune pre-race routines and race plans before Head of the River in a week.

Mothers lunch

On Friday 23 February, the Annual Rowing Mothers Lunch was held at the Regatta Hotel. The event was a huge success with more than 80 of our rowing mums in attendance for the lunch. Master of Ceremonies Josh Humphrey (coach of Year 9 Third Quad) and guest speaker Hamish Cooney (coach of the Open Second VIII) gave a fantastic insight into our programme for new mums joining us and some great stories for returning mothers. We look forward to continuing the tradition with next year’s lunch.

Tyson Sholl
Director of Rowing

Strength and Conditioning

Benefits of resistance training for youth

Resistance training for young people is often met with mixed messages around its efficacy, risks, and necessity. One myth that is widely (and incorrectly) repeated, stems from research in the 1970s and 1980s that suggested resistance training may cause damage to growth plates in bones during maturation. The methods used in these studies, however, pose risks to any untrained population with poor exercise selection, supervision and little concern for training load. The reality is that, with correct loading, exercise selection and coaching in how to perform exercises correctly, the risks of injury during resistance training are very low (between 0.053 and 0.176 per 100 hours), especially compared to the risk of injury in contact sports (up to 1.06 per 100 hours).

Recently the research has been overwhelmingly favourable to resistance training for the youth population with some benefits lasting a lifetime. Aside from vastly increased strength, cardiovascular health and coordination, there are cognitive, psychological and other physiological benefits such as increased bone mineral density in key areas such as the hips that offset their decline later in life. The habits built from regular exercise may also carry forward for life contributing to a lower chance of some diseases and decreased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and it has been correlated with success in career and academics through more energy, better concentration, and higher creativity.

In summary, it is perfectly fine and highly recommended for young people to participate in resistance training in an age-appropriate and well-supervised training session with benefits lasting a lifetime. If you’d like more information, feel free to join the Strength and Conditioning myChurchie page, or alternatively forward enquiries to Jarrad.Boswell@churchie.com.au.

Jarrad Boswell
Director of Strength and Conditioning

Trent Goodrick
Head of Cocurricular