Balaklava High School Swimming Carnival

On Tuesday the 4^th of February the 2020 Balaklava High School Swimming Carnival was held. The weather conditions were pristine and the atmosphere was electric as we returned to a full day event with the re-inclusion of novelties and the highly anticipated Staff vs House Captains vs Parents Race.

This year also saw the limit on competitors per House removed to increase participation with multiple heats run per event giving everyone the opportunity to swim and contribute to their House. Well done to all the swimmers who showed great skill, courage and enthusiasm, giving their best for their House.

It was fantastic to see many parents, caregivers, families and community members in attendance on the day to support our students. A special thanks to Heidi Zerk, Trudy Redpath, Sharalyn Pike, Ben and Bess Marshman and Kirsty Williams who assisted with timekeeping on the day; school events like this are unable to go ahead without such support from our parents.

Well done to the House Captains who worked hard to ensure events were filled, encouraged their team members to participate and decorated their house areas with plenty of house pride.

I would also like to acknowledge the help and efforts of my colleagues who supported me with the set-up, pack-up and official duties of the carnival which contributed to the day being a success.

A special mention and thanks to Mid North Tyres in Balaklava for their generous donation of old tractor tubes for our novelty events, the new tube stack novelty was a great hit!

Students and staff recently had the opportunity to give feedback on this year’s Swimming Carnival which will be used to inform the refinement of the event for next year. If you have any feedback about the carnival, please let me know via Daymap or email (alison.schahinger763@schools.sa.edu.au).

Interschool Swimming Carnival at Riverton

On Monday the 17^th of February 27 of our best swimmers represented the school at the Interschool Swimming Carnival at Riverton Swimming Pool. We competed against a combined Burra/Eudunda team, Clare High School, Kapunda High School and Riverton & District High School.

Congratulations to Sasha Branson who was Runner-up Champion by 1 point in the U15 Girls age group and Bailey Arthur who was Runner-Up Champion in the U16 Boys age group. Well done also to Luke Hart who qualified for the Plains Producer Handicap 50m Freestyle race with the quickest time of the meet.

Special thanks to all the parents and families who came along to support our team and helped with timekeeping. To Mr Parsons, Mr Jenner and Mrs Lowe thank you for you work with the team, official duties on the night and transporting students to Riverton.

All students represented the school proudly and demonstrated excellent attitudes and support of one another.

Results:

Championship Girls: 3^rd place (Clare 1^st)

Championship Boys: 3^rd place (Clare 1^st)

Overall Championship: 3^rd place (Clare 1^st)

Improvement: 2^nd place (Kapunda 1^st)

Anna Hawker Shield (formally the Handicap Shield): 4^th Place (Riverton 1^st)

School Sport SA Secondary Individual Swimming Championship @ SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre

I would like to wish Edwina Marshman, Janna Mojares and Sasha Branson good luck in the SSSAS Individual Swimming Championships when they compete next Monday the 24^th of February.

Athletics Day Friday 6^th of March

Our focus now turns to Athletics Day which will be held on Friday the 6^th of March. We will be moving Athletics Day from the oval behind the gym across the road to our school oval with our brand new sand pit and shot put rings to be used for the first time. Like Swimming Carnival, there will be no limit on the number of competitors per event from each House in order to increase student participation. Students will rotate through each event on the program with their age group and have the opportunity to participate in the events that they choose. Please find the 2020 Athletics Day program included in this newsletter.

Alison Schahinger

Sports Coordinator