2016 All Stars Presentations and Relaunch of the Hall of Fame

2016 All Stars Presentations and

Relaunch of the ACS Hall of Fame

On 7 September over 240 of the best senior ACS athletes gathered at Loyola College for the annual ACS All Stars Presentations where the best players are selected across the senior sports from all schools to be presented as the All Star team. It’s the highest honour that the ACS presents to athletes. It was wonderful to see so many family members in the audience supporting the All Stars. 

This year the ACS wished to celebrate the achievements of former students and decided to relaunch the ACS Hall of Fame at the All Stars event. We were honoured to have 13 Hall of Famers join us to celebrate and talk with the All Stars about their sporting history on the national and international stage. This included two new inductees to the Hall of Fame; Monica Brennan (Athletics) and Josh Coward (Rugby Sevens) both recent Loyola College students and recently selected for the Australian team in their sports.

Mr Sean Simpson (Deputy Principal, Loyola College) was one of the original inductees to the Hall of Fame for his achievements in Athletics when the ACS commenced in 1998. Mr Simpson was our special guest speaker and spoke of his determination and persistence to achieve his best but also of the disappointment when injury curtailed his athletics career and how he had to regroup to move forward in a new direction.

The official presentation of the All Star badges and certificates commenced with the Summer All Stars, Athletics, Cross Country and Swimming Teams. Our MC Mr John Baxter from Loyola College welcomed our guest Hall of Famers to make the presentations. Following this the ACS President Mr Stuart Davis was welcomed to the stage to induct Monica Brennan and Josh Coward into the ACS Hall of Fame, highlighting their achievements and to present them with their awards. 

Mr Simpson interviewed the Hall of Famers where each person spoke about their pathway through school sport and onto their chosen sport and how important the support of their school was and the fond memories of playing sport with their friends. Many spoke of the incredible opportunities sport provided them throughout their careers. One of the advantages of having so many special guests to talk with our All Star athletes was that each person offered the audience something different and authentic to take away from their collective experiences.

The event continued with the presentations to the Winter All Star athletes. Throughout the presentations each athlete was highlighted in the multimedia presentation and action images of all the sports flowed throughout the event in a series of excellent displays. 

Mr Davis concluded the event congratulating the athletes and thanking our guest Hall of Fame representatives for their time and contribution to the celebrations.

Such an event can only succeed with the wonderful contribution of many people. Thank you to Loyola College for hosting the event and for the wonderful hospitality in providing refreshments for all athletes and guests. Thank you to Michael Alessandrini for the superb multimedia display, Mr Baxter and the Loyola sport department for setting up the hall and the Heads of Sport from all schools, your efforts are appreciated.

A special thank you goes to the members of the Hall of Fame; Jenny Altermatt, Monica Brennan, Shannon Corcoran, Josh Coward, Gordon Fode, Chelsea Morley, Rebecca Privitelli, Alesha Sayner, Ray Shaw, Mariklud Silic, Sean Simpson, Mark Turnbull OAM and Sean Wroe who gave up their time to be a part of the All Stars and Hall of Fame celebrations and impart insights from their sporting and life experiences.