Congratulations to every student who represented St Catherine’s throughout the year. Record results in the GSV Competition, along with the remarkable achievements of our Junior School athletes in the SSV Competition plus the success of our Rowing and Snowsports Programs make for a very impressive highlights package!  

Highlights from 2023 below.  

GSV Sport 

• 2023 was the most successful year in our 22-year history of GSV Weekly Sport. We had a record 15 teams progressing to the Finals and 5 Premierships won. 
• All four of our Softball teams made finals for the second year in a row, with the Junior A & B Teams winning Premierships. Our Senior Softball Team finished Runners Up and our Inter Team placed third.
• Our Swim Team finished in second place in the Division 2 Championship Carnival. This was our best result in the GSV Swimming Competition since 2018 and saw St Cath’s rewarded with 31 entries at the GSV Finals Night. From these, we finished with an incredible medal haul of six Gold, two Silver and four Bronze. This placed St Catherine’s first on the medal tally out of the 24 GSV Schools.
• Our talented Senior Hockey Team defended their 2019 and 2022 Titles with a big win in the 2023 Grand Final. Likewise, our Junior Hockey Team won the Premiership.
• The Senior B Badminton Team won St Catherine’s first ever GSV Badminton Premiership.
• St Cath’s competed in the Division 2 Track & Field Championship Carnival and had 18 students qualify to compete at the GSV Finals Night. This saw a return of three Gold, one Silver and two Bronze to put us ninth out of 24 schools on the medal tally.
• Over 60 St Cath’s athletes competed in the Division 2 Track & Field Championship Carnival, finishing in fifth place overall. Seventeen students qualified to compete at the GSV Finals Night, putting them in the top 10 placegetters across the Divisions 1, 2 & 3 Carnivals. This saw a fantastic return of five gold medals, one silver and four bronze to put us a phenomenal sixth out of 24 schools on the medal tally.
• Our Cricket Team became the first in 10 years to make Finals. They won their Semi-Final and lost a close Grand Final to be GSV Runners Up.
• Zoe Hall (Year 12) and Camille Brownjohn (Year 9) made the GSV Netball Representative Team, while Angelina Chumbley (Year 11) made the Tennis Team.

Rowing

Our Senior Crews had fantastic seasons, with both boats winning Bronze in their respective A Finals at the Head of the Schoolgirls’ Regatta.

At the Australian National Rowing Championships in Perth, the Henley MMXXII progressed to the A Final of the Schoolgirls’ Coxed Eight, taking home the Bronze Medal, while the MMXXII came fourth in the C Final. This effectively places these crews an incredible third and 15th in the country for this event. In the Junior and Inter age groups, the Year 9 Davey Crew won a Silver medal, finishing second in their A Final at the HOSG, while the Year 10 Gunn progressed to the A Final.

Snowsports

• Seventy-three students participated in the House Snowsports Weekend, with Davis winning the overall Cup.
• Thirty-three students competed at the Victorian Interschool Cross-Country Championships with the Primary School Team winning the Overall Trophy and the Secondary School Team finishing second.
• Fifty students competed at the Victorian Interschools with both the Primary School and Senior Schools finishing in second place overall.   

SSV Sport 

• St Catherine’s entered teams in the inaugural GSV Grade 5 & 6 Swimming, Diving, Cross-Country, and Track & Field competitions.
• SSV Hockey Team made it to the Regional Competition.
• Our Cross-Country Team won District Competition.
• The SSV Track & Field Team finished second at the District Carnival, while the Swimming Team also finished second, and won the Population Trophy.

• The 9/10-year-old and 11-year-old 4 x 100m Relay Teams progressed to the State Championships, both taking out Gold. Likewise, Imogen Brownjohn (Year 5) also won Gold.   

Other Highlights

• The newly refurbished Sports Hall and Strength and Conditioning Studio has provided a state-of-the-art facility for our teams and athletes to train and play.
• Twenty students were part of the Athlete Development Academy, through which they received expert strength and conditioning coaching and access to athlete education sessions.
• The St Catherine’s Netball Club entered its third year, with over 80 members competing in the Stonnington City Netball Association.
• Two teams of Years 7 to 10 students competed in the second annual Cattermole Cup, a schoolgirls Rugby 7s tournament. The day was full of tackles, trys and teamwork.
• The annual Sports Celebration event was transformed to an evening setting, with presenters Melissa Barbieri, Holly McNamara and Naomi Chinnama speaking about their experiences playing professional football with Melbourne City and the various Australian National squads. Approximately 160 members of the School community were in attendance as we announced the Excellence and Coaches Award winners from the 2022-23 GSV Competitions, as well as the Team of the Year Award.
• Congratulations to the recipients of the Team of the Year, our amazing Year 8 Swimming Relay Team of Louisa Liao, Vera Zeng, Chloe Fei (Chloe) Zhu and Elora Chan. This team won the Gold Medal at GSV Finals Night in the 4 x 50m Medley Relay and Silver Medal in the 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay, as well as one Gold Medal and two Bronze Medals at the Victorian All Schools Relay Championships.

State/National Level Athletes

Although we regularly recognise and praise the performances of those students who wear the light blue on competition day, we also acknowledge achievements of those who wear different colours, yet still represent the pride of St Catherine’s in all that they do.   

This year, St Catherine’s had several students who competed in State or National level competitions across a range of sports. We recognise the following students for their outstanding achievements within sport: 

• Lilly Fogarty (Year 10) Sailing  
• Camille Brownjohn (Year 9) Netball 
• Diya Asthana (Year 9) AFL 
• Coco Lutz (Year 7), Louisa Liao (Year 8), Elora Chan (Year 8), Chloe Fei (Chloe) Zhu (Year 8), Vera Zeng (Year 8), Nell Peat (Year 9), Emily Thomas (Year 9), Annabel Taylor (Year 10) Swimming 
• Milla Cohen (Year 8), Madison Grey (Year 8), Violetta Capanni (Year 9), Harriet Syme (Year 10), Phoebe Russell (Year 12), Sammy Love (Year 12) Hockey  
• Catherine Ross (Year 10) Snowsports 
• Isla Willows (Year 7) and Imogen Randell (Year 9) Equestrian 
• Scarlett Pringle and Scarlett Shelton (Year 11) Rowing  
• Paloma Gattino (Year 9) and Lily Taylor (Year 12) Athletics  

The success of our Sport Program is without doubt thanks to the support of our Physical Education and Sport staff, specialist coaches, sports auxiliaries, and parents. Congratulations to all students involved in the various sporting programs throughout the year. We look forward to getting back into competition in 2024.