St Paul's proudly represents at NSW Catholic Primary Schools Basketball Challenge
Over 70 students from St Paul's have competed against hundreds of other Catholic school students from across NSW and the ACT in the 35th annual NSW Catholic Primary Schools Basketball Challenge (CPSBC).
The tournament - this year hosted by St Christopher’s, Panania - is one of the largest sporting events for primary school students in NSW. The event saw 1,200 students from Years 3-4 (Juniors) and Years 5-6 (Seniors), competing in 152 teams from 33 schools representing nine dioceses - travelling from Taree in the north, Albury in the south and Griffith in the west.
The strong presence of Diocese of Wollongong schools could not be missed – St Paul's joining Nazareth Shellharbour City, Stella Maris Shellharbour, Ss Peter and Paul Kiama and St Brigid's Gwynneville to take 40 teams in total to play at venues across Bankstown, Menai, Sutherland and Riverwood.
Each team played three games of basketball on the Saturday, with their wins and losses, and points for and against, recorded. At the completion of the first day, teams were ranked against all other schools in their section of the competition based on their results, and placed into a new, graded draw for the next day.
On Sunday, the Challenge entered the knockout phase, where each game, teams faced losing and being eliminated from the competition. Our school's teams fought hard, and many made it through to their semi-final and even the grand-final - including some who successfully claimed the title for their division!
Eleven St Paul’s teams made up of 75 students in total – three Senior Boys, three Senior Girls, three Junior Boys and two Junior Girls teams – had a fantastic time competing across the weekend.
The Senior Girls A team placed 17th out of 39 teams, putting them in Division 3. The Junior Boys A team was ranked 16th out of 38 teams, while the Junior Girls A team ranked 15th - meaning both teams made it to Division 2 of their competition - a big feat! Meanwhile, Junior Boys B and Junior Girls B both placed in Division 3.
Many of our teams won their quarter finals on Sunday and went through to semi finals. A special congratulations to the Senior Boys A team, who progressed through to their grand final and won 18-16 against Young - making them champions of their division!
While winning games was one reason to celebrate, teacher and school CPS organiser, Julie Ferguson, said she believed the school’s greatest success was the amount of positive feedback given to her and other staff about the behaviour of the students.
“The students were continually praised for their sportsmanship and friendliness. Referees, parents and students from other teams commented on how great it was to play against St Paul’s teams and the friendliness of the parents and teachers coaching and as spectators. This is a wonderful tribute for all of us to be proud of” — Julie Ferguson, St Paul's CPS organiser
St Paul's Principal and NSW CPSBC Executive Committee member, Colleen Easton, said schools from far and wide gather every year for this event because the children and parents always have such an enjoyable weekend.
“The community spirit is so evident. I draw strength from witnessing parent-school partnerships and the personal and social growth of our students in both the lead up to, and during, the weekend,” Mrs Easton said.
“St Paul's is to be congratulated on how they bring their school community together around this basketball weekend and create such strong sense of family, community and the Catholic school.
“I sincerely thank our staff and all those involved for our schools' organising teams for the CPS Basketball Challenge - for encouraging our students and supporting our coaches and managers who give so generously of their time and skills so that our children can participate. It’s a wonderful weekend of fun playing basketball.”
St Paul’s thanks all the family members who coached and managed teams, including Mr and Mrs Hofman, Mr Hilton, Sarah Hilton, Mrs Meehan, Bree Meehan, Mrs Sacco, Mrs McGlashan, Samantha McGlashan, Mrs Campion, Mr Schutz, Mr. Allen, Mrs Rosete, Mr Dunn, Mrs Moon, Mrs Redman, Mr Bancroft, Mr Tsolkas, Mrs Elliot and Caitlyn Bloomfield. Thanks also to Mrs Simone Miller and staff members, Mrs Ferguson, Mr Edwards, Mr McCann, Mr Farrugia and Ms McGeehan for coaching teams at training and on the weekend; the hardworking office staff for their organisational help; and teachers, Mrs Vezinius and Mrs Sykes for attending the weekend to help supervise.
“What an amazing community we have, all working together for the good of our children. Thank you to all the families and staff that attended and gave their support to our early morning training sessions and over the weekend” — Colleen Easton, Principal