WINTER SPORT ROUND-UP

Sportsmaster Mr Johnathan Redenbach updates us with all the winter sport action.

 

Rifle Shooting

To have any success at all in the sport of rifle shooting, the competitor must have control over their breathing and their heartbeat. As Grammar’s Director of Rifles Mr Nick Green puts it, seen from 300m away, the scoring ring on the target is about as big as the bottom of a can of soft drink. And the pace is gruelling: to keep up with the clock, one shot must be fired every three or four breaths.

It’s a real test, rifle shooting, both physically and psychologically, but it’s a test that many Grammar boys historically have passed. This year’s selection of shooters was no exception. At the 2022 GPS Tournament, Grammar took an impressive equal-second, tying with Shore in what was the Grammar Club’s best performance since 2014. Blair Dowling (VI) did a fine job as captain and there were terrific individual performances from many shooters, led by Jaemin Lee (V) and Greg Papantoniou (VI).

Cross Country

Grammar boys faced real tests right across the winter sporting programme, with the wet weather taking over from COVID-19 as the single most disruptive agent. This winter saw our cross country runners confronting muddy courses all over Sydney. Despite the often daunting conditions, the boys were unflagging in their commitment to training, and this commitment paid off. Captained by Bradley Chan (VI), the Juniors finished third in the GPS, while our Intermediates and Seniors each took fourth place. Sixteen Grammar boys were selected to run at the CIS Cross Country Championships, and Julian Wylie (III) advanced to represent the CIS successfully at the NSW All Schools Championships. Four of our Open runners – Bradley Chan (VI), Julian Wylie (III), Will Rowsell and Jack Davis (VI) – won the Balmoral Burn Senior Boys Relay, a race which Grammar has won every year bar one since 2010.

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Fencing

In yet another highly successful fencing season, the School has retained the WJ Ronald Trophy after winning the Senior National Schools Championship for the twelfth time straight. Grammar won the League Shield for being the most successful school overall in the NSW Schools Fencing League. Under the leadership of captain Nayan Gallego Sivaraman (VI), forty of our fencers qualified for the National Schools Championships, where Ryan Zhu (I) and Daniel Mautner (V) won gold medals and Alex Taylor (III) and Thomas Tan (IV) won bronze, making Grammar’s fencing squad the most successful in the country.

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Football

In football, thirty-five teams and 480 boys took part in a programme unfortunately regularly interrupted by rain. The Second XI had a very good season – despite injuries and illness stretching the squad to its limits, the Seconds finished the season unbeaten and just shy of first place. The First XI had a strong preseason, placing third in the Plate competition, but wins were hard to come by in the season proper. The team, nevertheless, fought hard throughout and finished strongly with a come-from-behind win over Shore, followed by a resounding win against High. Rufus McGuinness (III), Lucas Kwan (IV), Nathan Barrie (IV), Oscar Gultekin (V), Matthew Wahby, Gabriel Gotting and Thomas Thornthwaite (all VI) were selected to represent the GPS, and Matthew won further selection to the NSW squad.

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Volleyball

The ever-growing Grammar volleyball squad won nearly 100 of 151 matches played. The season’s Junior MVP was Hinata Morishita-Lee (II) and the Junior Clubman was Marcus Levison (III). The Firsts and Seconds lost premiershipdeciding matches against the volleyball powerhouse Sydney Boys High School, but the Grammar competition teams were the only teams all season to take sets off High. Samuel Garvin, Finlay McDonald (both V) and captain Alex Lawson (VI) represented the victorious GPS and CIS teams, and Finlay went on to selection in the U18 Australian team.

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Rugby

Grammar’s rugby season was characterised by resilience, determination and lots of mud. The 14As won the Fathers’ Association Cup for the most successful team after an undefeated season, and the Ian Clark Anderson Memorial Cup for contribution to rugby outside the First XV went to the Third XV, whose impressive commitment to the game epitomised the entire programme. Highlights of the season for our senior players were the Seconds’ hard-fought victory over Riverview Fourths and the First XV’s flawless display against Shore. The First XV’s Bo Baffsky (V) and Freddie Toone (VI) won selection to the GPS Blue team, and Freddie went on to selection for the Sydney U18s and the NSW Open teams.

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Taekwondo

And finally, the winter season ended on a high-kicking note as the Grammar Taekwondo team was crowned NSW All Schools champion following the September 3 tournament at Barker College. Led superbly by captain Jeremy Cosman (VI), Grammar beat Shore by ten points in an outstanding overall performance, which saw our boys win four gold medals – Mateo Janevski (I), Tom Conisbee (II), James Young (III) and Manas Jiwane (IV) – along with eight silver medals and fifteen bronze. An impressive performance by the boys and a fitting way to round off the winter sport season.