Canberra Girls' Grammar School

SNOWSPORTS

Posted CGGS Newsletter 29 - 26 September 2008

SENIOR SCHOOL SNOWSPORTS

CGGS Snowsports teams had a great start to the snow season with the Southern NSW and ACT Interschools in July. Skiers and snowboarders competed particularly well in these races and a number qualified to compete in the Australian National Interschools Competition which was held from 10 to 14 September.

Twenty CGGS students competed. The two snowboard teams had the best of the weather for their races and raced well in the icy conditions. Bridgette Cunningham, our only cross country skier, also did well in her race, placing tenth. The weather just managed to stay fine for the skiercross races on Saturday, where, although there were a number of crashes, everyone did their best despite the difficult course and the deteriorating snow conditions. Both the Division 1 and Division 2 skiercross teams placed fifth, which is a fantastic result.

The Alpine races were scheduled for Sunday morning but as the Division 1 and 2 skiers inspected the racecourse before their races, the weather closed in and lightning filled the sky. Course officials were forced to cancel all of Sunday’s races because of the dangerous conditions. This was a disappointing end to the season, especially for the students who travelled to Perisher solely for the Alpine races and for the Year 12 students as this was to be their last chance to compete for CGGS.

All CGGS Snowsports students raced well in both Interschools and Nationals, making the 2008 season great. Good luck to everyone next year!

Bella Whitton
Snowsports Captain

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Posted CGGS Newsletter 23 - 15 August 2008

This year’s ACT / Southern NSW Interschools Snowsports Championships promised to be great. The snow was good and on 29 July, 60 skiers and snowboarders set off for three days of competition.

Conditions were perfect on Wednesday for the snowboarders who raced well, CGGS teams achieving second place in the Division 3 Snowboard GS and third place in the Division 2 Boardercross. Notable individual results were: Ellie Skacel third in Division 2 Boardercross; Gabby Nixon third in Division 3 Boardercross; and Kyna Millan third in Division 3 Snowboard GS.

CGGS had 12 teams competing in Skiercross on Thursday and, although conditions were difficult, the skiers maintained the high standard set by the snowboarders. The Division 2 team of Ellie Skacel, Brigette Boast and Amy Long had an excellent result, winning their race and in Division 1, the team of Bella Whitton, Charlotte Allen and Kirby Hanrahan, came second. Individually, CGGS had two podium finishes with Bella Whitton and Brigette Boast finishing third in their respective divisions. The only Moguls team representing CGGS this year came second. Congratulations to Clair Phillips whose contribution (despite not having tried this discipline before) led to this success.

As gale force winds blew on Friday, skiers competed well in Alpine despite the extreme conditions. CGGS teams in Division 1 (Bella Whitton, Laura Wylie, Charlotte Allen and Kirby Hanrahan) and Division 2 (Ellie Skacel, Brigette Boast, Georgia Lourandos and Marney Sutton) both achieved second places. Congratulations must go to Charlotte Allen third in Division 1 and Brigette Boast who was awarded the Snowsports ACT Prize in Division 2.

Congratulations also to Bridgette Cunningham, who came third in the NSW State Cross Country Skiing Championships which were held during the July holidays.

Thanks to Mr Griffiths, Mrs Harrison and Miss Cattermole who organised the trip and accompanied the students and whose efforts are greatly appreciated by all who participated. Thanks also to Mrs Wylie who helped make snowmen cookies, which we all enjoyed and to all the parents who volunteered to be officials for the races.

I hope everyone who competed this year enjoyed the experience. All skiers and snowboarders did really well and their participation made a great contribution to the event. I encourage other students to compete in Snowsports in the future.

Bella Whitton
Snowsports Captain

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Posted CGGS Newsletter 22 - 8 August 2008

JUNIOR SCHOOL SNOWSPORTS

ACT/Southern New South Wales Interschools Snowsports Competition

Last week 12 Junior School students headed to Perisher Blue to take part in the ACT/Southern New South Wales Interschools Snowsports Competition. All twelve students entered the Skiercross event on Thursday and the Alpine event on Friday. The weather conditions were extremely poor, keeping most of us inside outside of the racing schedule. Despite the poor conditions everyone remained positive. Congratulations to Sarah Gore, Zoe Hanson and Taylia Sarris who came fifth in the Division 4 Skiercross and to Sarah Parsons, Eden Milne and Jessamy Patterson who came fifth in the Division 4 Alpine races.

Also congratulations to Francesca Baird, Eden Milne, Sarah Parson and Jessamy Patterson on being selected to compete at the National Interschool Snowsports Competition (Alpine) at Perisher Blue on 13 September.

Thank you to all those parents who took on the roles of team managers and race officials, without their support the event would not have been able to go ahead.

Damaris Patterson
Junior School Snowsports Coordinator

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Posted CGGS Newsletter No. 14 - 23 May 2008

JUNIOR SCHOOL SNOWSPORTS

2008 Inter Schools Snowsports Competition

Information and registration forms for this year’s Inter schools Snowports Competition are available from the front office at the Junior School.

The competition is open to all snowboarders, cross country skiers and alpine skiers and will be held at Perisher Blue. Parental transport and supervision is required at these events.

All forms need to be returned to the Junior School by Wednesday 4 June.

Further competition information can be viewed at www.interschools.org.au.

Damaris Patterson
Assistant Deputy Principal (ELC-Year 2)

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SENIOR SCHOOL

A team of 60 students travelled to the Snowy Mountains last week for the annual Southern NSW/ACT Interschools Championships held at Perisher Blue. The weather was kind to us on Wednesday but gradually deteriorated into horror conditions for Friday’s events resulting in the cancellation of the Cross Country. Apart from a few scares, there were no significant injuries and all students represented the School in a mature fashion. CGGS Snowsports Captain Bella Whitton led the team magnificently, achieving three podium places out of three events entered. She was a never ending source of support and her efforts were appreciated by accompanying staff, students and parents. Thanks go to Jenny Hunter and Sue Harrison from the PDHPE Department for their dedication to the program over the entire three days. CGGS parents, Rod Sutherland, Dave Long and Deb Long all completed a number of official duties over the week and staff certainly appreciated their input and continued support of CGGS Snowsports.

Notable results included:

2nd Place Division 3 Snowboard and Boarder X (Lauren Brownless and Ashley Turnbull)
2nd Place Division 2 Skier X (Charlotte Allen, Amelia Moulis and Ellie Skacel)
2nd Place Division 1 Skier X (Morgan Evans, Bella Whitton and Grace Peatey)
2nd Place Division 1 Moguls (Claire Bradbury, Grace Peatey and Bella Whitton)
1st Place Division 1 Alpine (Morgan Evans, Bella Whitton, Jane Sutherland and Laura Wylie)
1st Place Division 2 Alpine (Brigitte Gasson, Sarah Bradbury, Claire Boast and Annabel Spry)
Morgan Evans being named fastest skier in Division 1

Students who have qualified for Nationals (Falls Creek Victoria) will be notified in the coming weeks.

Brad Griffiths
Teacher in Charge of Snowsports

JUNIOR SCHOOL

A group of 18 intrepid skiers, ranging from Year 1 to Year 6, has just returned from a blizzardy two days racing in the PerisherBlue snowfields for the ACT/Southern NSW Interschools Championships.

On the first day of racing, the students competed in the SkierX event. In this event, skiers follow a blue line that takes wide curves through sets of blue and red flags.

We were met with blue skies and gleaming, powdery slopes and the students were nervously excited as they were handed their race bibs. One even commented on feeling nauseous from the butterflies in her stomach! It wasn’t long until their eagerness turned to trepidation as conditions worsened and the soft, dry flurries of snow grew wet and the wind stronger as the hours passed.

Despite the poor visibility and the wet, sleety snow falling like hail against goggles, the snow was still great and the students achieved impressive results, racing against local schools from Jindabyne, Cabramurra and Cooma. In Division 4, our Years 5/6 students came 4th and 9th place out of 30 skiers and 13 teams. In Division 5, teams comprising students from Years 3 and 4 came 3rd and 5th place out of 36 skiers and 16 teams.

After overnight rain there were fierce lightning strikes over the snowfields on the second day. Once started the students skied across to Guthega from Mt Blue Cow for the Alpine GS race. This is a slalom event where skiers take shorter turns alternating between red and blue flags. (As in the Winter Olympics, only shorter.) The original 10 o’clock start was postponed for nearly two hours due to lightning striking the main lift (or T-Bar) that would provide access to the course and back to Mt Blue Cow.

The morning’s long wait hardly seemed worth the less-than-minute run through the course to complete the race. However, once again, our students achieved fantastic results. Out of 15 teams and 37 skiers, our Division 4 teams came 3rd and 5th place. Our Division 5 teams also excelled with 7th and 8th places out of 19 teams and 48 skiers.

Overall, our skiers showed great strength of character to have endured the conditions they faced and to have achieved such wonderful results. There will no doubt be a small team competing in the Australian Championships held in September at Falls Creek - more on that later.

I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to the parents of our skiers. For many of us this was a new experience and the understanding and support from the more experienced parents made the roles of team managers and race officials less daunting and more manageable.

Amanda-Jo Birchall
Junior Snowsports Co-ordinator

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The article below was published in CGGS Newsletter 16 - 8 June 2007

Junior School:

Greetings from the Junior School Snowsports Coordinator. The 2007 ski season is almost upon us and that means it’s almost time for the ACT and Southern NSW Interschools Skiing Competition. For more information please contact me via email: amanda-jo.birchall@cggs.act.edu.au or visit the Interschools website at http://www.interschools.org.au/sitePage.asp?siteid=2&pageid=109

Amanda-Jo Birchall
Snowsports Coordinator
Junior School

Senior School:

Registrations for Snowsports 2007 are now open and students will need to register on-line via the Snowsports Portal Page. Those who register should be confident skiers, who can link turns, ski (and snowboard) fast and ski control.

During the July School Holidays, those students who will be competing at Interschools Competitions will have the opportunity to participate in some training and coaching. Coaching clinics will be offered for CGGS students at both Thredbo and Perisher. Please contact Ladner Sutherland (rodlad@optusnet.com.au) for further details as soon as possible.

If any parents are interested in volunteering during Interschools competitions, there will be an opportunity to participate in an Officials’ Workshop. You will be provided with information on how to fulfil the various roles which are vital to the smooth operation of the Competition. The Workshop will be held on 13 June. For more details about the Workshop and Interschools Snowsports competitions in general, click here: http://www.interschools.org.au/sitePage.asp?siteid=2&pageid=109

Brad Griffiths
Teacher-in-Charge of Snowsports
Senior School

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Is your daughter interested in skiing for the School this year?

Each July, CGGS provides teams from the Junior and Senior School for the ACT and Southern NSW Interschools Skiing Competition. Many of our teams have then gone on to compete at the Australian Interschools Skiing Competition. If you are interested in finding out more about skiing at CGGS or sharing information about skiing, particularly ideas on how to improve the Snowsports program, please forward your contact details to Brad Griffiths at brad.griffiths@cggs.act.edu.au or Ladner Phillips at rodlad@optusnet.com.au.

Brad Griffiths
Teacher-in-Charge of Snowsports

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Click here to return to CGGS Newsletter 09 2007 - 5 April 2007

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