Sport

2025 Cocurricular Selection Portal

The cocurricular team is eagerly anticipating the selection presentation and release of the Selection Portal this coming Monday.

We remind all families to free up their Monday evening on 29 July to tune in to the Head of Cocurricular’s presentation, outlining important information for choosing sports and activities commitments for 2025.

Once the portal is live from 7:30 pm next Monday, families will have ten days to deliberate before making choices with their sons for 2025. Please note the Selection Portal link access will be disabled to all from Sunday 18 August at 6:00 pm.

Information regarding GPS sports, activities, music, and the creative arts is available on programmes’ myChurchie sites. If you require further information regarding a particular sport or activity, please reach out to directors and coordinators for advice. Their contact information can be found on each myChurchie site.

Trent Goodrick
Head of Cocurricular

Basketball

The Churchie basketball teams had a great weekend of results and shows of sportsmanship against a tough opponent in Gregory Terrace. The boys across the programme played hard and with humility, resulting in 29 wins, 2 draws, and only 9 losses for the day.

Some key performances across the day included:

• a clean sweep of wins in the Year 5, 6, 7, and 9 age groups
• 5D winning their game 44-4 in an amazing defensive performance
• 7B’s strong 52-8 effort
• 11D stepping up for a 43-10 victory.

Across the programme, the day was typified by our boys helping the opposition up when they could, playing our traditional fast-paced style, communicating in a very Churchie-like way, and doing so with lots of smiles and fun. It is great that our teams routinely have a lot of wins; however, it is the enjoyment and skill that our boys play with, as well as superior structures due to committed coaching, that really make the rounds that much more enjoyable.

This week saw the release of the early bird ticket purchase for the basketball end-of-season awards dinner, which will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday 7 September from 5:30 pm. I encourage all Years 7 to 12 parents from basketball to jump on and purchase a ticket for themselves and their son before the early bird offers close. More information can be found on the MyChurchie Basketball page.

This weekend, the programme has a round against Nudgee College, with our Year 5-8 teams playing away at Nudgee College and other venues, and our Year 9-12 boys playing either in the Sir John Pidgeon Sports Complex or the Campbell Centre.

First V report

The First V game against Gregory Terrace was always going to be a dangerous game. Gregory Terrace has a formidable backcourt combination; however, Churchie’s depth and the size of our front line were certainly going to be tough for GT to handle.

The first quarter saw Churchie out to a strong start behind some breakneck speed, strong finishes, and rebounding inside, as well as the return of Kurt Siwek and the debut of Year 9 Andrew Watene. The boys battled hard for a 27-19 lead at the first break, which would have been larger if not for the strong play of the Terrace captain from beyond the arc.

The second quarter saw more of a barrage from deep from Gregory Terrace and lots of runs by both teams. Terrace managed to bridge the gap behind strong guard play, and the high-scoring quarter saw Churchie with a slim lead, 62-56.

Right from the start of the third quarter, the crowd saw Churchie pick up the defensive intensity, covering the shooters all quarter. They stretched the lead out behind eight crucial points by Captain Oskar Olechnowicz, strong rebounding by the combination of Kurt Siwek and Connor Davidson, and some heady play and a late three by Year 10 Noah Kirk. The score was 90 to 80 heading into the final term with much work still to do.

In the fourth quarter, 10 huge points by Connor Davidson and some big early threes by Nash Harding, put the score out towards 20 points quickly, and Churchie finished out a tough-fought game with a final score of 117-104, reflective of a tough contest in which the Churchie First V was just a bit too strong across the board.

The boys will look to continue their undefeated start to the season against Nudgee College at home this Saturday at 12:15 pm, which is part of the showcase day at the School. The First V and First XV doubleheader in terms of spectating will be one to behold, and our basketball boys are primed to put on a show for as many of the Churchie community that can attend. 12:15 pm is the tip-off time in the Sir John Pidgeon Sports Complex for what should be a great show of the premiership talent the team has and the exciting brand of basketball that sees them as the top-scoring team in the GPS.

Aaron Harding
Director of Basketball

Chess

Round 2 of the GPS Chess season saw Churchie take 47 eager young men to St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace and achieve a commanding victory. We won all 12 teams down to Open I in what was ultimately a demolition of our opposition. Special congratulations must go to players in the Premier Senior Open A, B, C, and D teams, who all won their games.

This week, we face Nudgee College at home in the Centenary Library. We invite you to come along and support our chess players as they take on well-prepared opposition at home. Our “Second Chance” tournament will run again for boys not selected in GPS teams.

We also have the Brisbane Secondary Interschool Chess Competition next Tuesday, which will be held at the School in Morris Hall. Students interested in participating should contact Mr. Max Condon.

Let’s continue to show our support and dedication to our chess players as they strive for excellence.

Last Saturday, the Centenary Library hosted the Strategic Minds Chess Club FIDE rapid, an initiative to help Churchie and Queensland players obtain and improve their FIDE chess ratings. This club is particularly beneficial for preparing Churchie boys for GPS and state competitions.

The event saw a club record of 63 players participating in an attempt to help FIDE break a world record for the most games played in 24 hours. The participants included 2 Grandmasters, 1 International Master, 2 FIDE Masters, 1 Women’s FIDE Master, and 3 Candidate Masters. The presence of these titled players and other strong competitors made this one of the most vital rapid events in Queensland’s history.

After seven rounds of intense competition, the Churchie boys performed exceptionally well. IM Sravan Renjith won the event with a score of 6.5/7, followed closely by CM Jayden Ooi in second place. Both boys finished ahead of strong Grandmasters, marking a significant achievement. Well done, boys!

I want to thank Max Windsor, and David Esmonde personally for their invaluable support in running the FIDE rapid last Saturday. I encourage any Churchie boy to consider participating in a Strategic Minds Chess event. Our goal in running these events is to bring strong players to Churchie, providing opportunities for our boys to improve and enhance their chess skills.

I look forward to seeing you all at our next event, which will be a FIDE Classical event in November this year.

Max Condon
Director of Chess

Rugby

Round two of the GPS competition provided near-perfect conditions for Churchie’s first away game of the season. After a solid hit last week against Brisbane Grammar School, Churchie was looking forward to playing some expansive rugby against round two opponents Gregory Terrace.

It was an extremely close battle between the two schools, with both schools playing some enterprising rugby. A total of 33 matches were played between the two schools, and Churchie was just edged out by GT, who came away with 16 wins, 14 losses, and 3 draws.

This weekend, we look forward to a competitive set of matches against Nudgee College in our second home game of the season. With all teams playing at home, the ground is set for a great day of rugby.

Queensland Reds vs Wales

Churchie was pleased to host Wales last week leading into their fixture against the Qld Reds. Churchie Old Boys Richie Asiata (2014) and Dre Pakeho (2022) were named in the starting team for Queensland, joining former Churchie coaches Jock Campbell and James O’Connor.

First XV report

The First XV ventured to play Terrace at Tennyson on Saturday, confident after an impressive win against Brisbane Grammar School the previous week.

The match kicked off in very windy conditions. For the early stages of the first half, GT applied plenty of pressure and controlled possession well. The Churchie defence stood firm, but a relentless pick-and-go sequence saw GT pull away with two early tries. It wasn’t long before Churchie hit back with a well-worked try. Harry Solofa’s offload from the floor saw Max Blanch assist Caleb Godfrey, who sprinted through from 15 out.

Churchie regained possession from the kick-off, and some well-worked pressure led to Churchie having a lineout 10 metres out from the GT try line. The forwards imposed themselves with a well-worked driving maul finished off by Harry Solofa. The scores now stood at 14-12. Terrace scored another well-worked pick-and-go try shortly before half-time, making it 19-12.

The second half kicked off in even windier conditions. The first 15 minutes saw Churchie spend more time inside the Terrace half but were unable to capitalise on possession. Credit is due to the stern Terrace defence that was able to win some crucial turnovers. After they capitalised on a Churchie handling error, Terrace stretched their lead to 28-12.

The last 15 minutes of the game saw Churchie hammering on the door non-stop. A quick tap from Max Blanch saw him crash over, bringing the score to 28-19. From the kick-off, Churchie gathered possession and found themselves again camped on the GT try line. GT’s solid try-line defence saw them hold out and take the victory in what was a physical and intense second half.

Andrew Moloney
Director of Rugby

Sporting achievements

Congratulations to the following students for their success in the following sporting pursuits:

• Treyvon Pritchard (Year 11) was selected for the Australian U18 Development Squad. He joins 2023 Old Boy Frankie Goldsbrough, who was also selected.
• Kurt Siwek (Year 12) was selected for the Queensland U18 Basketball Club Team.

Trent Goodrick
Head of Cocurricular