Nearly 170 primary students from Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) made a splash at the Zone 6 Swimming Carnival in Liverpool today.
Fifteen schools were represented at the Whitlam Leisure Centre including first-timers, St Anthony of Padua Catholic College Austral.
St Anthony student Emma McGlone with her blue ribbon. Photo: Natalie Roberts
It was a special moment for the St Anthony of Padua students, with Emma McGlone taking out first place in the Under 8’s 50-metre Girls Freestyle – and her school’s first ever ribbon at an SCS sports carnival.
“We’re super excited to finally represent our school and show off our talents to the other Catholic schools,” St Anthony of Padua’s sports coordinator, Bonnie Petrovski, said.
“It’s also very exciting for Emma winning her event, and we’re proud she will represent our school at the Archdiocesan Trials.”
HOW THE DAY UNFOLDED
The Zone 6 Swimming Carnival opened with the Senior Girls 100-metre freestyle.
And there was no stopping Sienna Bautista from John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Bonnyrigg Heights as she powered to victory by a whopping 10 seconds, going on to take out another incredible five first place finishes in the 50-metre Freestyle, 50-metre Backstroke, 50-metre Breaststroke, 50-metre Butterfly and 200-metre Individual Medley.
She was definitely Zone 6’s star of the day!
“I’ve improved a lot this year and I love swimming,” a modest Bautista said.
However, she was pipped at the post in the Senior Girls Relay by Charlize San Jose, who made up more than five body lengths in the final leg to claim victory for St Catherine Of Siena Catholic Primary School Prestons.
“It was an incredibly successful day and it’s a huge shame that parents couldn’t be here today to spectate and watch their children participate” – Anna-Kate Turnbull
Other noteworthy athletes on the day included Levi McDonald of St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School Holsworthy, the star of the Senior Boys Freestyle events, winning both the 50-metre and 100-metre races. Noah Dinyan, also from St Christopher’s, took out the Under 10 Boys 50-metre Freestyle, Junior Boys 50-metre Backstroke, Junior Boys 50-metre Breaststroke and the Junior Boys 50-metre Butterfly.
Sydney Catholic Schools’ Networks Sports Coordinator, Anna-Kate Turnbull, described the day as “incredibly successful”, adding “it’s a huge shame that parents couldn’t be here today to spectate and watch their children participate.”
“It’s fantastic to see several students with disabilities are participating today and our numbers are increasing,” Turnbull further remarked.
“The students were absolutely delighted and it’s great to see them included and heavily involved.”
WHAT’S NEXT
The top three students from each event will advance to the Sydney Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival in March, where they will look to gain selection to the Mackillop Swimming trials in Homebush.
By: NIKOLA POZDER
Having a splashtastic time. Photo: Natalie Roberts
ABOUT SPORT
Swimming is one of 16 representative pathway sports offered to primary school students at Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS).
“Sydney Catholic Schools is proud to provide our students with the fundamental skills in a variety of sports and the opportunities to trial and represent at a state and national level,” Sydney Catholic Schools’ Executive Director, Tony Farley, said.
“This includes instilling core values of discipline, teamwork, respect, integrity and fair play in our young sporting stars.
“At Sydney Catholic Schools, we believe sport is for everybody, from our elite athletes to students who have a love of sport.
“Besides being fun, sport can help kids perform better in school, relax more and worry less.
“Sport also teaches students valuable lessons in working with others and how to be gracious in defeat.”
SCS offers students a pathway to higher representative sport, starting with school trials, moving through to zone, conference, and inter-Diocesan levels and, finally, progressing to state and national competitions.
Representative pathway sports for students aged 8-13 years:
- Athletics
- Cross Country
- Diving
- Golf
- Swimming
Representative pathway sports for students in Years 5-6:
- Basketball
- Cricket
- Hockey
- Netball
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Soccer
- Softball
- Tennis
- Touch Football
That was splashtastic! 🏊 Today's fun in the sun at the Zone 6 Swimming Carnival at Whitlam Leisure Centre has come to...
Posted by Sydney Catholic Schools on Wednesday, 3 February 2021
