Boys Basketball takes title at National School Championships
In early December, the Boys First Basketball team was one of nearly 230 teams to participate at the Australian School Championships on the Gold Coast. Competing in U20 Division 1 Men, the boys finished the week with victory in the grand final, defeating Newington College (NSW) 64–62 in a hotly contested match. Newington shot the ball extremely well and took an early lead before the Bloods settled and regained the lead at quarter time. Momentum ebbed and flowed, with the lead never getting above five points and with five seconds remaining Newington made a three-pointer to close to a point. Despite extreme pressure and some missed free throws, Haileybury held on to win by two points and secure the title.
LA Rams partnership
Earlier this month, we kicked off our partnership with the Los Angeles Rams NFL Gridiron team. The Rams are one of the most recognisable brands in world sport and we were extremely excited to welcome them to Keysborough where they hosted a Rams Flag training sessions for over 650 Years 5–6 students from across all four campuses. We were lucky enough to welcome the Rams official mascot ‘Rampage,’ who has over 300,000 followers, as well as members of the Rams cheerleading squad who host hundreds of community initiatives each year. This event kicked off our long-term partnership with the Rams who are playing an official game of NFL football in Melbourne in September next year. The Rams are going to support our ambitions to grow NFL Flag, which is a non-contact version of NFL Football for both boys and girls. Who knows, maybe one day leading to a medal for a Haileyburian in this newly introduced Olympic sport.
National All Schools Championships
Haileybury delivered an exceptional showing at the National All Schools Championships, with 10 athletes competing and every one of them progressing to multiple finals, posting personal bests and edging closer to World Junior qualification standards.
Notable performances included Archie’s gold in the 400m, finishing agonizingly close to a World Junior qualifier, alongside Portia’s podium in the 80m hurdles and Jett’s impressive medal in the 1500m, all showcasing tremendous determination and precision in race execution.
Results
Golds – Archie U18 400m & 4x100m
Silvers – Portia U14 80m Hurdles & 4x100m
Bronze – Jett U17 1500m
4th – Jaz U18 Shot Put & Discus
5th – Nate U16 200m Hurdles
5th – Matty U17 400m
6th – Selini U14 400m
6th – Portia U14 Long Jump
6th – Libby U16 3km
6th – Julia U18 200m
7th – Libby U16 2km Steeple
7th – Nate U16 100m Hurdles
8th – Cal U14 400m
Touch State Championships
Haileybury entered the 5/6 Touch Championships in late November with cross-campus teams playing together for the first time and all four teams got to their Grand Finals. The results were:
Year 5 Girls – Runners Up
Year 5 Boys – State Champions
Year 6 Girls – State Champions
Year 6 Boys – Runners Up
Despite some horrendous weather at times, the players were all brilliant and represented the School with pride. A huge thank you and congratulations to Andrew, Nick, Terry and Shane for all their coaching, enthusiasm and encouragement throughout the day.
First Boys Soccer Captain named in Young Socceroo's Squad
Nikola (Year 12 – Keysborough) has been named in the U/20 Young Socceroo's National Squad to play in the SBS Cup in Japan in December. Nikola first joined Haileybury in Year 7 and has been in the Blazer Squad since 2022, adding First team captain responsibilities for the last two seasons. He unfortunately missed most of the 2024 year with a back injury, but over the last twelve months has worked tirelessly, both with the School team under the mentorship of Grant Brebner and his NPL club Melbourne City. The honour of pulling on the green and gold colours is testimony to his skill and determination, and we thank him for his significant contribution to the Haileybury Soccer program. Good luck Nikola.
Matthew Dwyer
Head of Sport (One Haileybury)
