Today we had our College athletics carnival at the park and we were lucky enough to somehow dodge the recent terrible weather, making it through the day without being hit with any rain.
The boys still attended the first two periods of the day and then the school moved to the oval for the annual event which pits mate against mate as they compete for their colour house.
Last week at our Division Meeting I had spoken to the boys about getting involved and making the most of the opportunities at the carnival. I pointed out that it would be very easy to just run the compulsory events and then sit and watch the others. I challenged the boys to try and compete as much as possible in the optional events and it was wonderful to see them take up this challenge.
The picture at the top of this blog is the start of the 800m race – an event which was open to all the boys. As you can see, there were lots of boys keen to give it a go and in fact more boys ran in the U13s 800m and 15000m race than any other age group. When it came to the field events, every single available spot was filled and very competitive. This is an indication of how committed the Year 7 boys were to getting involved and giving things a go!
Each boy in Year 7 ran in the 100m as well as the 400m and I was so pleased to see them being sensible and really giving it their best effort. We know (and are indeed very proud) that we have a diverse group of boys here at Joeys with talents in various facets of life. All we ask for is that the boys give things a go and do so with their best effort – I know that our boys in Year 7 certainly did this today!
When it comes to the boys who have a particular talent in athletics, congratulations go to James Hill (Abbotsford) who contributed the most points to his colour house in Year 7. Likewise, special mention should also go to Lachlan Champley (Umina Beach) who came in with the second most number of points for his team.
A big commendation to all the boys in Year 7 who arrived at the carnival impeccably dressed and contributed to the success of the carnival.
Photo 1: Fred Maher (Cherrybrook) clears the bar in the high jump.
Photo 2: Owen Vella (Chatswood), Joseph Canning (Wentworth Falls), Tyrone Janson Ho (Greenwhich), Matthew Sally (West Pennant Hills), Tom McGregor (Manly Vale), Matthew Mackenzie (Sutton Forest) and Felix Habib (Balmain) begin to stride out in the 100m heats.
Photo 3: Matthew Spillane (Hunters Hill), Ben Junee (Hunters Hill) and David Kidd (Connels Point) push each other in the 200m event.