“Having worked in girls’ education for 30 years, I have witnessed time and again that ‘making active attractive’ in school is not always straightforward when the barriers can be so varied.”

It was a triumphant performance by our Rowing crews last weekend at the annual Head of the Schoolgirls (HOSG) Regatta on the Barwon River, Geelong. The Senior Division One Crew, rowing in the MMXXI, otherwise known as Maxxi, were victorious in the A Final for the second year in a row.

Winning through their Heat on Friday, and Semi-Final on Saturday assured the Crew of an ideal middle lane, and as the footage reveals, the Crew took an early lead in the race and did not let the go.

Congratulations to our Rowing Captains, Zara Bongiorno and Bronte Cullen, Cox Summer Balla-Kellett, Sarah Marriott, Zara Peele, Sienna Darcy, Jemima Wilcox, Lucy Green, Chloe Nevins and Coaches, Mr John Saunders and Brigette Carlile. A fine history-making performance of back-to-back wins for St Catherine’s School.

Our Senior Division Two Senior Crew were also highly competitive in their A Final, being narrowly defeated for the title. They have enjoyed a competitive tussle with Geelong Grammar for first place at each regatta this season. Needless to say, the girls were most deserving of being on the dais for their valiant effort, and receiving the Silver Medal holds much pride.

Our Years 9 and 10 Crews relished the opportunity to participate in such a large regatta, performing across the weekend in heats, repechages, and finals. The support and cheering of all crews were notable across the weekend, albeit led to some very hoarse voices for our members of staff and students on Monday.

Thank you to the Heyington Club and committed parents for hosting the St Catherine’s community at their superbly decorated marquee. Their enthusiasm for being part of the weekend and supporting ‘girls sport’ was tremendous with their presence, which was one of excitement and anticipation. This visibly speaks to the unity of the St Catherine’s community.

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  MMXXI podium celebrations

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  MMXXI First VIII crew at HOSG Regatta

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  MMXXI HOSG Winners Trophy!

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  The Fearless Girl crew raced with strength and fortitude

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  Our successful Senior Rowing Squad

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  The Fearless Girl took out the Silver Medal in the Division 2 Schoolgirl Eight

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  The Year 10 Gunn crew raced exceptionally well, earning a Bronze in the Year 10 Quad Scull Division 2A Final

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  Rhea Werner won Bronze in the Year 10 Single Scull Division 1 Final

With the Black Box Theatre nearing completion, we now turn our focus to the next phase of the re-development of the Dorothy Pizzey Centre, which will include a contemporary indoor sports court, a dedicated High-Performance Training Studio, inclusive of a fit-for-purpose ergometer training area, and Little Gym housing our PMP and Tumbling programs for the enjoyment of our younger students.

This week, I have undertaken research regarding the unique opportunity girls’ schools have to create a culture in which being active is valued and admired. Creating a culture of participation is instrumental to the success of St Catherine’s Sport Programs, with no better example than our winning performance over the weekend in Geelong. We know if girls are physically active, they will be healthier, happier, have higher self-esteem and body confidence.

Overall, research finds that although families are the most powerful influence on a child’s activity levels, schools are seen as the most important sites for change. This is often associated with the staff that engages and enthuses girls to ‘stay in the game’.

Member of the winning Senior Division One Crew at HOSG, Sarah Marriott, credits her teachers as being most influential in her sports participation last year:

“I definitely would not have been able to stay motivated without the help of the STC Sports staff (Mr Racina, Miss Carlile, Ms Hobson, Lloyd Knight, John Saunders and Kemble,) as they were continuously running virtual sessions to help us stay connected, as well as interim STC challenges and competitions. This also motivated me to manage my time to exercise and work hard in my academic studies. This year, I have been involved in many School Co-curricular activities, both physically and virtually, including Rowing, Athletics, Cross Country and Duke of Edinburgh.”

This week, Sarah shared with me that our Head of Rowing, Brigette Carlile is, “definitely an incredible role model to us girls, and her organisation, composure, and commitment inspires us in more than just Rowing.” 

Indeed, schools have a unique opportunity, not just to deliver physical education and school sport well, but to also create a culture in which being active is the norm.

Despite Sarah and her Senior Crew members’ eagerness to be active, the research tells us that not all girls enthusiastically get involved, or want to make the team, be the best, or commit to training. For a whole range of reasons, we know that girls drop out of sport.

Having worked in girls’ education for 30 years, I have witnessed time and again that ‘making active attractive’ in school is not always straightforward when the barriers can be so varied. Tapping into their sporting enthusiasm can be tricky and requires offering a range of sports, a range of clothing, a balance between highly competitive activities and just playing for fun, and importantly, bathrooms they feel comfortable changing in; the gender differences I suspect are stark! Research also suggests as girls grow, they begin to place greater emphasis on appearance over health and feel it is more important to be thin than fit.

Our own sports participation data in Term 1 reveals that approximately 85% of Years 7 and 8 students are engaged in at least one form of St Catherine’s Sport. This includes GSV, Run Group, and/or the STC Netball Club and approximately 80% of Years 9 and 10 students are engaged in at least one form of St Catherine’s Sport that includes Rowing, GSV, Run Group, Yoga, and/or the STC Netball Club.

Yet after this, we experienced a drop off in Term 1 to 35% for our Years 11 and 12 Cohorts, as academic loads increase and part-time jobs also require a commitment of time. I am keen to explore this age group further, and that of the 15% in our younger cohorts who are not participating. What do we need to do, as a school, to ensure these girls graduate with a pursuit of an active adult life?

While influences can be deeply entrenched, schools have a fantastic opportunity to ‘buck the trend’ and create a school-wide culture of fit, healthy young women, who retain their love of fitness and activity throughout their lives.