2002
Following the successful introduction of mixed-gender badminton competition in 2001, mixed touch football was introduced for seniors in term four. Students adapted well to a sport which was then not widely played in Victoria.
For the second year, an ACS team competed at the Victorian All Schools Swimming Championships, and three students – Ryan Sparks (Eltham), Joel Smith (St Leonard’s) and Magenta Connelly (Westbourne) – were selected to compete at the national championships.
An ACS team also entered the Victorian schoolboys cricket competition, performing well despite 50 per cent of the matches being cancelled due to inclement weather. Chris Salm from Loyola was selected into the Victorian schoolboys team.
Nikki Little, Head of Sport 2008–19 & Head of Cocurriculum
Overnewton 2019–present , interview, 2022
Meg Hansen, Principal Westbourne 2010–2021, interview, 2022
Geoff Ryan, Principal Westbourne 1990–2010, interview, 2022
2002 Champion Schools
Scroll over the icon to reveal champion school
2003
The ACS family grew when both Overnewton Anglican Community College and Thomas Carr College joined the association. The need for more schools to join the ACS to ensure its viability had been identified from the beginning, and the injection of new teams to increase variety and depth of competition was welcomed. Thomas Carr made an impressive debut, competing in 26 out of 62 winter grand finals. In another exciting development, a public speaking competition was introduced. Six schools entered three students each in junior, intermediate and senior teams.
Pat Tyrrell, Executive Officer ACS 1997–2000, interview, 2022
Simon Gipson, Principal St Michael’s 2000–17, interview, 2022
Michelle Sheehan, Executive Officer ACS 2001–present, interview, 2022
At the end of the winter season, five schools competed in the first one-day senior girls football round robin tournament, furthering the ACS’s commitment to providing truly coeducational opportunities in sport.
For the first time in the history of the ACS, St Leonard’s failed to secure the Tim Hawkes Trophy for aggregate athletics, which went to St Michael’s. Two notable contributors to the ACS were farewelled at the end of the year: Graeme Marcy, sports coordinator at Westbourne, who was involved with the association’s establishment, and Michael Lawrence, sports coordinator at St Leonard’s.
Sarah Sansonetti, Loyola College graduate 2019 and ACS All Star, interview, 2022
Pat Tyrrell, Executive Officer ACS 1997–2000, interview, 2022
2003 Champion Schools
2004
Following a proposal first mooted in 1999, an ACS chess competition was introduced. All seven ACS member schools took part in the one-day round robin tournament, held at St Michael’s at the start of term two. Each school entered one team consisting of between six and eight players from years 7 to 12.
ACS swimmers took part in the Victorian All Schools Swimming Championships for the final time before the event was disbanded following the 2004 competition. Premiership-winning teams from individual schools represented the ACS in other school sports events.
After eight years of operation, the ACS board identified some challenges to address. Heads of sport were charged with adopting processes to improve uniform standards and sportsmanship. Induction sessions for coaches were introduced to enable a consistency in understanding ACS values and the code of ethics and behaviour. In response to some behavioural challenges with senior boys football, ACS introduced a panel of experienced umpires. This resulted in improved competition within one season.
Rob Huntington, Deputy Principal St Michael’s, Deputy Principal Overnewton, interview, 2022
Michelle Sheehan, Executive Officer ACS 2001–present, interview, 2022
Peter Hopwood, Head of Sport
St Leonard’s 1996–2001,
interview, 2022
Simon Gipson, Principal St Michael’s 2000–17,
interview, 2022
To improve the management of carnivals and reduce the load on schools, expert officials from Swimming Victoria and Athletics Victoria provided officials for all facets of the competitions. The introduction of electronic timing in swimming and photo-finish equipment in athletics, along with the use of competition software, made a huge difference in improving the speed and accuracy of results and producing results reports.
'We need to ensure that the ACS continues to grow and that we regularly evaluate ACS sports and operations to make certain that it remains an important and relevant component of students' educational experience.'
2004 Champion Schools
Scroll over the icon to reveal champion school
2005
The athletics carnival was a highlight of the year, with an unprecedented 33 new records set. Loyola won its first ACS carnival trophy, the aggregate girls trophy. The cross country carnival was also a huge success, with almost 70 more students competing than in the previous year and six new course records set.
John Kennedy, Principal Loyola 1979–2008, interview, 2022
Matthew Healy, Director of Sport at Westbourne 2004–present, interview, 2022
‘Athletes of the meet’ awards were introduced to the swimming and athletics carnivals. In swimming, Maidie Laidlaw from St Michael’s and Michael De Stefano from Thomas Carr College won female and male athlete of the meet respectively. In athletics, the award for female athlete of the meet went to Georgia Baker from St Michael’s, and Sasha Dakic from Westbourne and Matthew King from Thomas Carr College were joint male athletes of the meet.
Peter Hopwood, Head of Sport St Leonard’s 1996–2001, interview, 2022
2006
Weekly sporting competitions were some of the most competitive in the history of the ACS with the tally of premiership wins spread quite evenly among the schools for the first time. Some schools displayed remarkable consistency and development in certain sports by winning multiple premierships across many year levels.
Geoff Ryan, Principal Westbourne 1990–2010, interview, 2022
Geoff Ryan, Principal Westbourne 1990–2010, interview, 2022
Cricket competition trialled two-day matches in the senior teams during term one but this was discontinued due to certain teams being disadvantaged. The Twenty20 format (limited to a maximum of 20 overs per team) was trialled in term four with more success, enabling more even results across teams and encouraging greater participation in the sport.
The senior football final, between St Michael’s and Eltham, was played at Toorak Oval before a large crowd of spectators. The quality of the players and the spirit in which they played, combined with excellent facilities, set a benchmark for ACS grand finals to emulate.
2006 Champion Schools
2007
Thomas Carr College and Westbourne Grammar won their first major trophies – the aggregate boys athletics trophy for Westbourne and the aggregate boys swimming trophy for Thomas Carr.
In athletics, discus was introduced, and 34 new ACS records were set. Kobbie Boahene of Westbourne and Lane Weiderstein of St Michael’s set three new sprint records.
In football, VAFA disciplinary rules were adopted, using a card system to send off players. This improved the process of dealing with inappropriate behaviour on the field and provided consistency for both umpires and players.
In line with advances in technology and the internet, and in the same year that Apple introduced the first smartphone, the ACS launched its website.
Sarah Sansonetti, Loyola College graduate 2019 and ACS All Star, interview, 2022
Simon Gipson, Principal
St Michael’s 2000–17,
interview, 2022
2007 Champion Schools
2008
A new schedule was introduced, with athletics competition moved to term three, and cross country to term two, to fall into line with the schedule of other Victorian schools and competitions. The swimming carnival was held in the outdoor pool at MSAC for the first time, and Westbourne won its first ACS swimming trophy. In a first for a premiership-winning team representing the ACS, the Westbourne junior boys soccer team won the FFV All Schools Football Championships.
In celebration of the first decade of the association, All Stars Awards were introduced into the senior program to recognise the best and fairest in each sport, with the best players from all schools selected into All Stars teams. Awards were presented at a special event held at the Astor Theatre at which Fergus Watts from the Reach Foundation was guest speaker.
Stephanie Shreeve from St Leonard’s became the first ACS recipient of the Sportsmanship Badge/Landy Award, a new award introduced by the School Sports Associations of Victoria (SSAV) with the support of retired athlete John Landy to recognise exceptional individual acts of sportsmanship or fair play by participants at any school sports event. Stephanie stopped mid-race to help a fellow runner who had fallen on the track during the 800m ACS event, echoing John Landy’s own notable act of sportsmanship when he stopped to help Ron Clarke during the Australian Mile Championship in 1956.
