Sports Bulletin – Issue 14, 10 October 2024

• Congratulations to all our Track & Field athletes, reserves, spectators and coaches following the AIC Championships last week. Full results below.
• Touch Football and Water Polo tournaments fast approaching on the 19/20 October. Refer to the relevant sections below.
• Registrations for Term 1 Sport – AFL, Swimming, Cricket and Volleyball have been extended to Friday 11 Oct. Students registering after this date must collect a Late Registration Form from the Sports Office.
• Selection trials for AFL, Cricket and Volleyball commence in Week 4, Term 4 from Monday 21 October  This schedule is not yet available. It will be posted to the website Locker Room overview page soon.

AIC Track & Field Results
The AIC Track and Field Championships were held on Thursday and Friday of last week where our selected athletes had the opportunity to represent Villanova and compete to the best of their ability against strong competition. The Villa community is very proud of all our athletes who competed in the 2024 AIC Championships.

Once again, this year our athletes were very privileged to have a number of specialist coaches either return to our program or join us and share their wealth of knowledge with our squad. Yevgeniy Tkachenko- long and triple jump, Old Boy Michael Criticos- discus, Max Volau- shot put, Andrea Kruck- high jump, Adam Sputnik- sprints, all contributed immensely to the program and are keen to see Villanova improve into the future. It is the hope that in the coming years with the help of specialist coaches such as those involved with our squad that we can continue to build momentum and the profile of the sport where we attract all of our best athletes who can share their gifts and talents for overall improvement in Track and Field.

It was pleasing to see from the start of the season that we had an encouraging number of boys competing for their spot in the squad with the ultimate goal to represent Villa at the AIC Championships. In particular, our Junior School boys showed great enthusiasm from the beginning of the season and held that right throughout and until the end. We are hoping for that enthusiasm to continue all the way through their school journey and continue to develop that positive culture towards Track and Field.

It was clear to see that from our attendance and performances across the four warm up meets during the season that we were putting ourselves in the best possible place to show improvement on the big stage. We had some exciting performances from the warm up meets that showcased the talented athletes that we have within the College which emphasised that we can certainly compete and hold our own.

U12’s claims first place!
The under 12’s age group had an outstanding AIC Championships and managed to be the only age group that were able to win silverware from Marist College across the entire AIC which is a tremendous achievement! Over the two days the U12’s competed with grit and determination and were asked to compete across many different disciplines as they are the smallest age group in number of athletes. It is this type of effort that we hope to build on for future years with all members of our Track and Field squad.

Overall, Villanova was placed in 8^th position in the 12yrs – Opens and tied 4^th position with SLC in the Year 5&6 Aggregates. Although we finished in the same position as the previous two years in the U12-Open age group, we did improve one place from 5^th to 4^th in the Juniors, which is fantastic. Whilst it is not the result we were hoping for overall, we are extremely proud of all the boys who competed, as we know they gave their best on the day, and we thank them for being great competitors and representatives of the College. It is also important to note the progress that our Track and Field squad is continuing to make as we were only one small result away from finishing in 7^th as we were only behind SLC by 1.5pts and 6^th place St Patrick’s were only a further 7.5pts away. This should hopefully be a little bit of motivation for our athletes going into next years competition.

Year 5 – 6 Aggregate = Tied 4th (Year 5 5^th; Year 6 – 5^th)
Year 7 – 12 Aggregate = 8th (U12 – 1^st; U13 – 6th; U14 – 9th; U15 – 6th; U16 – 8th; Open – 6^th)

It’s important to reflect on the resilience and dedication displayed by our athletes and coaches. This year, our boys truly exemplified what it means to commit to a program, working hard and supporting one another even when faced with challenges. They put in the effort at training, focused on their personal improvements, and were eager to compete against their peers for a spot on the team. On competition day, they rose to the occasion, often achieving personal bests and showcasing their commitment.

This season, our Track and Field captains have shown exceptional leadership and dedication, guiding their teammates through both challenges and triumphs. Their commitment to fostering a positive team environment and encouraging personal growth has been truly inspiring. By leading practices and motivating others, they set a powerful example of sportsmanship and perseverance. We are grateful for their hard work and the lasting impact they’ve made on the team this year! Congratulations on a great season to Christian Porreca, Lachlan Brown, Joshua Noronha and Trystan Lewis.

There were many notable performances by Villanova athletes throughout the Championships, with our athletes achieving 20 first places, 15 second places and 21 third places which equates to Villanova placing in more than 27% of the events which is a fantastic achievement by our athletes. Special mention goes to the following Villanova athletes who achieved first place in their events:

FIRST PLACE-GETTERS
Year 5:
Henry Fairfull-Smith – High Jump; Div 2; 1.38m
Hugh MacLellan – 200m; Div 8; 30.89s
Lachie Mathieson – Hurdles; Div 2; 10.77s
Lachie Mathieson – High Jump; Div 1; 1.38m

Year 6:
Eli Alexander – Long Jump; Div 1; 4.70m
Nicholas Webber – 200m; Div 8; 31.50s

U/12:
Darcy Dickinson – Hurdles; Div 1; 15.31s
Darcy Dickinson – Long Jump; Div 1; 4.65m
Austin Harrison – Long Jump; Div 2; 4.57m
Austin Harrison – 200m; Div 2; 27.09s
Austin Harrison – 100m; Div 2; 13.02s
Will Koo – 200m; Div 1; 27.12s
Finn Gillett, Darcy Dickinson, Austin Harrison, Will Koo – 4x100m Relay; 53.59s

U/15:
Denzel North – Long Jump; Div 2; 5.56m
Denzel North – 400m; Div 1; 53.61
Nick Papastergou – Triple Jump; Div 1; 11.65m

U/16:
Jack Fidge – 1500m; Div 2; 4:21.14s

Open:
Lachlan Brown – Javelin; Div 2; 49.12m
Max Jones – Javelin; Div 1; 58.11m
Henry Oberhardt – Long Jump; Div 2; 6.43m

Finally, we extend our heartfelt thanks to staff members Mrs. Dillon, Mrs. Carabetta, Miss James, Mr. Pascoe, Mr. Rolls, Mr. Everding, Mr. Smith, Mr. Valentine, and Mr. Garske. They dedicated long hours, balancing teaching with coaching at SAF until 8pm, to help our athletes refine their skills. We are incredibly grateful for their encouragement in getting boys to join the Track and Field team and for their unwavering enthusiasm throughout the season for every athlete who attended practices and meets.

Sport Sign-Ons
Registrations for Term 1, 2025 Sport, AFL, Cricket, Swimming and Volleyball have been extended to Friday 11 Oct. Students registering after this date will need to collect a Late Registration Form from the Sports Office. Registration link below.

AIC Term 1, 2025 Sport Sign-on

To keep up to date with selection trials and training schedules, please visit the Locker Room Overview page, and the individual Locker Room sport pages (e.g. Swimming page, Volleyball page, etc).

Communications
Families are reminded to access all Sport information via the Villanova College website and the Villanova College App. The Locker Room Overview page provides updated information regarding training schedules and current AIC/trial draws.

Training Schedules
The Term 4 Training Schedule, for Weeks 2 and 3 only, is now available on The Locker Room Overview page of the Villanova College website. This includes Swimming selection trials which commenced on Tuesday 8 and continue Thursday 10 October.
Selection trials for Years 6-Open (2025) AFL, Cricket and Volleyball teams commence in Week 4, Term 4 from Monday 21 October. This schedule will be available soon on the Locker Room.

Save the dates – Sporting Tours, Camps and Clinics

• Christmas holidays 2024/2025 – Cricket Oblate Tour to Perth, Volleyball AVSC Tournament Gold Coast & Swim Camp at Tallebudgera.
• ** International Tour ** – Football & Rugby Tour to Japan – Easter 2025. Approved.
• ** International Tour ** – Basketball Tour to USA – Xmas holidays 2025/2026. Pending approval.

Sport Uniforms
Families are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the Villanova College Uniform Look Book. This information is found on the College website Uniform Shop page. Opening hours for the Uniform Shop can also be found here. All students selected in AIC teams are expected to wear the correct uniform for AIC fixtures each week.

Sport Contact List
If you are requiring information about a specific Sport, in the first instance, visit the website Locker Room page. If you need further clarification, please contact the relevant Coordinator below. For any training or game absences, please contact your Sport Coordinator.

Director of Sport – Shaun McLean, smclean@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC AFL Coordinator – Matt Conlan, mconlan@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Cricket Coordinator – Nathan Dufty, ndufty@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Swimming Coordinator – Juanita Jacobs, jjacobs@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Volleyball Coordinator – Todd Kropp, tkropp@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Cross-Country Coordinator – Brian Pascoe – bpascoe@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Chess Coordinator – Kath Underhill, kunderhill@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Football Coordinator – Nathan Dufty, ndufty@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Rugby Union Coordinator – Chris Everding, ceverding@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Golf Coordinator – Todd Kropp, tkropp@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Basketball Coordinator – Contact, sportsoffice@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Rugby League Coordinator – Contact, sportsoffice@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Tennis Coordinator – Nathan Dufty, ndufty@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Track & Field Coordinator – Anthony Kemp, akemp@vnc.qld.edu.au
AIC Water Polo Coordinator – Juanita Jacobs, jjacobs@vnc.qld.edu.au
Composite District Sport – Todd Kropp, tkropp@vnc.qld.edu.au
Lytton District Sport – Chris Everding, ceverding@vnc.qld.edu.au

Wet weather cancellations
If there is any reason to cancel training sessions or weekend games, this information will be posted to the Villa App in the Notices section or emailed to the specific students and their parents. Please ensure you have downloaded the Villa App and updated your preferences and settings.

The Villa Sports Department will endeavour to cancel morning training sessions by 6am and afternoon training sessions by 1pm. If a training session is cancelled, boys are not able to be dropped off to the training venue as there will not be supervision present. Please check the Villa App and your emails regularly for these notifications.

If any AIC fixtures are cancelled, we will follow the same procedure above. Timing will be dependent on when that information becomes available.

Mr Shaun McLean, Director of Sport

AIC – Villanova Cricket – save the dates:

• Week 4 of Term 4 (2025 Cricket selection trials at LL nets). The schedule for the selection trials will be released this week.
• Sunday 20 October (Internal cricket trials at Villa Park)
• Weeks 5-9 of Term 4. Aggregate squads weekly training at LL nets.
• Saturday the 9 November. Team trials against Iona College for 7A,8A,9A,10A, 2^nd XI and 1^st XI teams.
• Wednesday the 4 December. 6A, 10A, 2^nd XI and 1^st XI trials Vs Gregory Terrace.
• Sunday 8 – Friday 12 October Oblate cricket tour to Perth, WA.

With regards to the cricket trials vs Iona (Sat 9 Nov). We have planned for these trials to be conducted in the afternoon commencing at 1.30pm (except for 1^st XI which will be all day). This will involve certain teams across the college. We are aware that most club games are played in the morning. However, earlier this week I was made aware there are some afternoon zone cricket fixtures in both EDJCA and Bears planned during the season. It was suggested that boys involved in these games could request via their clubs for their games to be played in the morning on these weekends, if a clash occurs. We hope to publish our AIC cricket season schedule soon, so as our cricket community has time to consider any further clashes that may occur.

Please email Mr Nathan Dufty, ndufty@vnc.qld.edu.au, if you have any questions regarding Villanova cricket.

Mr Nathan Dufty, Cricket Coordinator

The trial and training schedule for the AIC Touch competition can be found on the Locker Room page. With an overwhelming number of registrations, it has become necessary to hold a ‘trial’ for some age groups ahead of the carnival. This means, unfortunately, not all students who have registered will be able to compete. The students selected after the trial in week 2 will be invited to a training session during week 3 ahead of the competition on Saturday 19 October. Final team lists will be made available via Parent Lounge on Monday 14 October.

AIC Touch Trial-Training Schedule 2024

We are now calling for expressions of interest for the Term 4 AIC Water Polo carnival. Please see event details below, for students interested in competing please complete the registration (link below) by Friday 11 October.

Date: Sunday 20 October 2024
Divisions: Year 7, Year 8/9, Year 10/11
Times: TBA on draw completion (8am start)
Venue: Marist College Ashgrove Pool

Water Polo Registrations here – Years 7-11 only

Strength & Conditioning has commenced for our Firsts and Development squads this week from Tuesday 8^th October.
The training schedule for Weeks 2 and 3 can be viewed on the Locker Room page. This includes the schedule for S&C. The schedule for Weeks 4-9 will be available soon.

Please find attached the Term 4 flyer. The Term 4 programme will run on Friday mornings from 11 Oct 24 to 29 Nov 24. Open to all students in Years 5-8.
Registration and payment though Parent Lounge. The event is now active.

Speed & Agility Programme – Term 4, 2024 – Years 5-8 students

Junior School Disco – Friday 11 October, 6.30PM – 8.30PM

Writers Festival 2024 – Week 3

Villanova College’s 2024 Writers Festival and Book Fair will be held in Week 3 of Term 4 in the Tolle Lege Library. This event promises to be an enriching experience for students, with renown author Nick Earls. For more information on the entire event click here.

• Book Fair 2024 – Click here for more information. 
• Writers Festival – Workshops with Nick Earls  – Click here for more information.

Villa Verve 2024 – Friday 18 October, 5pm
Mark your calendars for Friday 18 October at 5pm in Goold Hall. Join us for an unforgettable evening celebrating student creativity, from stunning
Visual Arts to captivating Music, Drama, and Media performances.

Derby Day for Ladies – Saturday 2 November, 2-6pm

Celebration of Excellence Evening – 5 November 2024, 6.30pm

In a year of innovation and change at Villanova College, Mr Paul Begg cordially invites all Villanova families to attend this major event in the College’s calendar, our 2024 Celebration of Excellence awards evening. Held at Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the awards evening will acknowledge outstanding achievement across Academic, Cultural, Service and Sporting Fields in Years 5 – 11. Join us for a memorable night of recognition while being entertained by our home-grown talented musicians. Let’s honour excellence and be inspired together!

Once the lists are confirmed, parents of award winners will be contacted on Monday 21 October. Additionally, this list will also be displayed at the College for students. Tickets are now available to book. At this stage, the limit is 4 tickets per booking. Book your tickets at: https://qpac.com.au/whats-on/2024/villanova-college-2024-celebration-of-excellence

Doors open at 6pm. Ceremony will commence at 6:30pm and conclude around 8:30 pm. This year we are expecting a full house, so please be considerate and only book what you require. If you require additional seats, please contact Kath Underhill at kunderhill@vnc.qld.edu.au.

Villa Sport – humble in victory, gracious in defeat.