Last Thursday morning, ten of our Year 12 girls, who have regularly been a part of our Cross Country and Athletics programs since Year 7, came to School early for a final run.

We ran down to Kevin Bartlett Oval, a place where many grueling sessions have been completed over the years. This time it was for a fun relay in House groups, before heading up the hill of Heyington Place to the Gates, one last time.

As has become a tradition within the Cross Country group in recent years, every girl waits at the Heyington Gates for all in the group to get to the top and finish, congratulating each other on another great running session, before heading back into the School grounds.

Girls who have regularly been a member of the GSV Cross Country or Athletics teams since Year 7, and in many cases both teams, were presented with an engraved Blue Baton. This Blue Baton is in recognition of each girl’s contribution to the St Catherine’s Cross Country and Athletics program over their six years of Senior School.

This tradition began four years ago, as a way to recognise our student athletes for the significant contributions they have made to St Catherine’s regularly “punching above its weight” in GSV Athletics and Cross Country Championships – we are a small school with a big heart. The girls appreciate this symbolic keepsake of their involvement in St Catherine’s Sport.

The day was a beautiful morning for a run, and we all agreed how good it was to be able to finally get together again. It was a very enjoyable way to finish up for this particularly talented Year group, who have been huge contributors to our whole Sports program during their time at St Catherine’s.