Director of Co-curricular, Mr Steve O'Donnell
Fixtures, Training Schedules and Maps
Click HERE.
House Swimming Carnival and Upcoming Winter Season
Well done to all activities on some excellent results last weekend. In particular I want to congratulate the 1sts Water Polo on their 13-2 victory over Riverview, the 1st XI Cricket on their resounding win against Knox, as well as the 8A Cricket on defeating Knox on the last ball of the day. Our 1sts Basketball came from 25 points down to take the match into overtime and were desperately unlucky to lose by two points, however our 2nds, 10As, 9As, 8As and 7As Basketball all recorded wins along with a number of other teams.
Well done to Aarush Soni, Jonathon McDonald and Hunter Eldridge in their selections in the CAS Cricket squad.
We have a number of students away at various activities this weekend including State Oztag, Branch Nippers and MetSEA Swimming. Our swim squad are also at the annual Christian Brothers Swimming Carnival on Saturday night and we wish all of these students well in their various endeavours.
Next week we are holding our House Swimming Carnival at Waverley College over two days. On Thursday, 29 February 2024, Years 7-9 will have their events during Periods 3-6 and will be in class for the first two periods of the day. These students will be able to wear PE attire for the whole day and obviously need their swimming attire.
We will publish the events schedule at the start of next week. Years 10-12 will have their events on Friday, 1 March 2024, following the same format of being in class Periods 1-2 and then undertaking the swimming events after recess.
CAS Swimming and Diving Championships
Our last round of summer sport is on Saturday, 9 March 2024 and the following weekend is a sport-free weekend for Senior School students. We do, however, have the CAS Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday, 14 March which is also a compulsory supporters’ duty for Years 8 and 11. Many of our Winter season activities and trials will commence on Monday, 18 March 2024 with internal trials on Saturday, 23 March 2024 and Saturday, 6 April 2024 for all team-based sports.
Presentation Evenings
We do also have some presentation evenings coming up for Basketball, Cricket, Swimming and Water Polo and these details sent out on the Waverley app.
We will also be running some of the Winter Supporters’ groups meetings over the next couple of weeks and invite any parent/carer from Years 5-12 to join us for these events.
Good luck to all teams and activities this weekend.
Mr Steve O’Donnell
Director of Co-curricular
sodonnell@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Luna New Year Dragon Boat Regatta Delivers Medal-Winning Performances
Waverley students combined with St Clare’s College to form our inaugural Dragon Boating team. A joint venture with Easts Dragon Boating Club—led by Head Coach Katy McDonald—the program involved a series of Thursday and Sunday morning Rose Bay training sessions.
At the prestigious Luna New Year Dragon Boating Regatta at Darling Harbour last Saturday, we fielded two crews in the Mixed Division, one Women’s crew and one Opens crew. Students paddled in two heats and a final race in each division. The 200m fast furious races are both taxing on the body and mind. Paddlers must be disciplined and determined to execute each stroke with precision and strength.
Our students responded positively to coach feedback, improving technique and teamwork each race, culminating in medal-winning final performances—a silver in Opens and Bronze in Mixed divisions.
We are very proud of the students for their efforts on the water and the responsible and courteous way they conducted themselves in training and in competition. On behalf of the team, I thank the Easts club for their outstanding coaching and team management to bring out the best in students.
Mr David Parnell
Dragon Boat Coach
dparnell@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Captains of Basketball Report
1st V
On Saturday, the 1st V faced off against second-placed Knox Grammar School in what was expected to be an extremely tough game. Unfortunately, the Waverley boys came up short despite the game going into overtime, falling 81-79 in an extremely close and hard-fought game.
The game started with an early surge from the Waverley boys taking an 8-0 lead early, forcing Knox to call a timeout. After Knox had a scoreless first half of the quarter, they picked up their intensity and started hitting a few threes evening out the score. After a highly contested first half, Knox went up by 25 points in the 3rd quarter. Things were looking bleak for the 1sts although efforts from Flynn Busteed started Waverley’s come comeback. In the 4th quarter, Waverley had fought back with Angus Peshos’ two free throws, sending it to overtime with 0.2 seconds on the clock.
In overtime, Waverley was unable to win the game, losing the game by two points in a very strong outing, but unfortunately pulled up short.
Waverley’s record now is 2-5, with St Aloysius’ coming up this Friday night in what will be another exciting game.
2nd V
The game against Knox was a crucial one for the 2nds, who still have hopes of winning the CAS premiership. Fortunately, they were able to pull away with the win 55-50 after a tremendous effort from the 2nds players.
Knox started well and got to an early 10-point lead, although the scoring of Rory Donnellan was able to slow their momentum and kickstart Waverley’s comeback. In the second quarter, the 2nds evened out the score and from then on it was a dog fight until the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the likes of Giles Strachan and Renato Rovacchi were able to give Waverley a slim lead. Knox kept fighting until the end, although the Waverley boys’ composure on defence was able to give them the win by five points.
The 2nds record now improves to 5-2 and their hopes of winning the CAS are still alive. They aim to continue their winning ways this week against St Aloysius.’
10As
On Saturday the 10As were able to take a comfortable lead through the game against Knox due to their hustle on the defensive end that led to easy transition points. The likes of Nico Palacio, Petros Kalpouzanis and Jonte Garvey helped them pull away with a convincing win. They kept this pressure up the whole game and were able to win 64-17 and this continues their undefeated season.
9As
The 9As had a strong win over Knox in a competitive game that Waverley won due to their ability to play with pace and execute hard, solid defence. This helped them hold a lead throughout the entire game. Malachai Rangan and Oli Lau were big factors in helping them win 41-23.
8As
The 8As had an intense game with both teams playing hard and physical defence. Led by Lucas Barber and Lachie Bayly, Waverley was able to keep up this pressure and was rewarded with a hard-fought 39-36 win.
7As
The 7As had a fiercely competitive game against Knox. It was a back-and-forth affair that came down to one possession, with Waverley taking home the win 34-32 against a talented Knox team.
Sergej Jakovljevic
(Captain of 1st V)
Mr Anthony Gibbs
Convenor of Basketball
agibbs@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Cricket Report R7 V Knox Grammar
Last weekend, Waverley College once again faced off against tough opponents, Knox Grammar, on their home ground. Knox, after winning the toss, opted to bat on a favourable wicket for batting. Joe Packington delivered an impressive opening spell of pace bowling, claiming figures of 2/25 off 8 overs, showcasing his ability to challenge top batsmen when hitting the right areas.
The entire Waverley bowling unit maintained immense pressure on the Knox batsmen, leading to their collapse and a restricted total of 9/152 from 50 overs. In response, Waverley’s Aarush Soni and Johno McDonald built a crucial 85-run partnership, securing the team’s second victory of the season, with a display of patient yet aggressive batting, a focus for the remaining games.
Meanwhile, the 8As journeyed to Gillespie Playing Fields to face their opponents. Despite losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, the team focused on maintaining line and length with the small boundaries. Knox’s number three batsman dominated, scoring 113 runs off 58 balls, helping his team reach 179 runs in 30 overs. However, Waverley’s Henry Walker (79) and Louis Croser (54) provided a strong start in response. Despite facing a challenging situation after losing three wickets, Cameron Spies and Liam Chalmers displayed resilience, timing their run perfectly to secure victory for the 8As with a boundary off the final ball of the innings.
1st XI v Knox
In other news, congratulations are in order for the 1st XI for winning the CAS South Harbour T20 competition. Although they progressed to the final against Barker at Queens Park, defending 93 runs proved too difficult, as Barker chased down the total with three overs to spare. The team appreciates the support from all the fans and fellow cricketers who cheered them on during the match.
Batting Club Sessions
I would like to once again encourage all players to attend the batting club sessions starting at 7am on your allocated day. It’s a great opportunity to work on your craft irrespective of where you bat in your team.
- Opens/10As – Tuesday morning
- Years 7-9 – Wednesday morning
- 1st XI – Thursday morning
- Junior School – Friday morning
Mr Greg Elliott
Convenor of Cricket
gelliott@waverley.nsw.edu.au
