This year has posed many challenges for sports across the globe and this was no different for staff and students at All Saints Grammar. How do we continue with sport during COVID-19? How do we meet the needs of students in a time of social distancing, hand sanitizing and the risk of cross-contamination? Ultimately, we went back to basics to ensure our students had the opportunity to maintain their fitness and enjoy themselves.
With regular school competitions such as SWISSA and IPSSO being cancelled for secondary and primary, as well as all carnivals and external competitions, it was critical to offer students the opportunity to engage in regular physical activity. In other words, sport had to continue. This Term, ASG reverted back to grade sport, which brought our school in-line with government recommendations.
Thankfully our school had the necessary resources and affiliations to ensure students and staff had the appropriate space to ensure sport ran fairly smoothly. We were able to successfully utilise our Primary Gymnasium, Hurstville Aquatic Centre, Sportsworld Indoor Peakhurst, Clempton Park and our Secondary Campus to conduct the sessions.
Next Term, we remain hopeful that restrictions will continue to ease. There still remains a possibility that we may organise sport events with our sister schools, however this is dependent on our society’s success in combatting the spread of the virus.
Throughout COVID-19, much literature centred around the social needs of our students. Sport presented students with many incidental opportunities to socialise and play. A healthy mind is reliant on a healthy body and vice versa. This means that now, more than ever, we need to ensure our students maintain their wellbeing by partaking in regular physical activity. Developing and maintaining good habits is essential to drive a lifetime of health and general wellness.
As well as the educational and emotional benefits, regular physical activity also assists to reduce the risk of developing lifestyle diseases and alleviate the pressure of daily school and family life. It also provides us with opportunities to experience successes outside of the classroom or simply socialise with others who hold similar interests.
During our school lockdown, it was understandable for students feel the effects of missing sport and physical activity. It is no surprise that the majority of students returned in Term 2 to the sports fields and courts with big smiles, not only for their peers but also for their teachers which was great to see.
Tony Georgiakakis
Academic Leader of Sports and PDHPE
