This year has been another very successful one in the life of sport at GCC. We have students achieving great things at the highest echelons of their sport, we have many teams who are champions and near champions – just pipped at the post in some incredibly close and heartbreaking games. However, what makes me particularly proud is the reputation we have in the district for playing the game tough and with wonderful sportsmanship.
I would like to congratulate everyone who played a sport this year for the College. Sport is a wonderful activity that gets your body moving, teaches you about teamwork, practice and discipline, and is a good rehearsal for how we respond to the victories that come our way . It also teaches us through the inevitable defeats. Sport is a great analogy for life and that is why it is an important part of the whole GCC experience.
Congratulations go to all the award winners and a special mention goes to our Primary, Middle, and Senior Sportspeople of the year: Chloe Turnbull, Eli Hardey-Abdy, Lily Breen, Josh Collins, and Bakanie Kombanie as Senior Sports Man of the Year.
For the first time ever, there was a tie for Senior Sportswoman of the Year which was shared by Sophie Trevan and Cassidy Ferris. It was wonderful seeing the girls epitomise the essence of sportsmanship by being so happy for each other. Well done girls.
We were honoured to have Kristy Ellis as our guest speaker and just hearing about her training regime was a daunting experience! Kristy Ellis has been a local Sunshine Coast girl serving with Alexander Headland Surf Lifesaving Club since 1998. Since her days as a Nipper, Kristy has won more than 200 medals in State, National and World Championships, and been inducted into the Sunshine Coast Sports Hall of Fame, the SLSA Hall of Fame and the ILS Hall of Fame. Kristy won the Coolangatta Gold event for women every year from 1993 to 1998.
Kristy’s message was right on point for our students. She spoke of setting goals, making sacrifices and the hard work needed to meet those goals. Kristy talked of her own obstacles, the challenge of getting out of a cosy bed in the middle of winter at 3am to immerse herself into chilly waters and overcoming her fear of big waves.
I wasn’t surprised when Kristy told us that the secret of her success was never giving up but I was delighted when she imparted words of wisdom not heard often enough from those who achieve greatness.
Kristy told about the importance of integrity in sportsmanship. She spoke of how devastating it was to meet and compete with someone she had looked up to only to find nastiness and bad form. From that moment on, Kristy decided that she wanted to be a role model who was good at her sport and encouraged others to be the best they could be. She left our students with the challenge to maintain their integrity and to be an inspiration to others around them.
Mike Curtis, Principal
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