IT'S GO GO GO AT IONA!

If you heard a lot of screaming and shouting coming from Mosman Park last Wednesday, I’m not surprised. This is because the Sports Challenge team, led by Programs Coordinator Jacqui Finnegan, joined forces with the Yr 8’s at Iona Presentation College to create a day of learning, excitement and certainly lots of fun.
The day started with the opportunity for the coaches and students to get to know each other through a number of activities, including the always popular ‘Have You Ever’. Having such interesting and exciting lives, the Iona girls certainly kept the experiences creative and the movement flowing. Some of the girls seemed to have done more in their short lives than the coaches!
During a break in activities, coaches Briony Keenan and Michael Stuart put on a gymnastic spectacle for their class and many onlookers, showing off the skills needed for their work with the sport of cheerleading. It was so impressive that it motivated a few of the girls to try their hand at it which all in all was quite a show for the locals passing by. Mentor Julian Leach, who was also in that group, was unable to show off his gymnastic skills because of a ‘supposed’ sore back.

After learning a bit about themselves in the journals, the girls had to learn a lot about themselves during the activity ‘House of Ropes’. As a team, the girls were to make a house out of 7 ropes, which seemed easy enough until they realised they had to do this blindfolded. This proved to be quite a challenge and while the girls tried to adjust to life without sight, the symmetry of the houses suffered and certain important components such as rooves or doors were just completely ignored. Eventually they became more comfortable and their strong teamwork came to the front and they completed the task with ease.
There was a short chance for the girls to have some lunch and the coaches to regain their composure and then it was right into the midst of sunshine, movement and lots of adrenaline with the afternoon activities. Our soccer experts, John & Calum O’Connell had the girls dribbling, passing and shooting with the best of them during the soccer activity while on the other side of the oval the big blue mat of ‘Abacus’ gave the groups the chance to come up with a strategy and then put it motion in an attempt to break an Iona record time of 43 seconds. They were of course up for the challenge. All this made it surprising that the girls still had energy left for ‘The Grid’ but judging by all the noise that was coming from the oval, it was clear that they did.

All too soon it was time for the girls to head back to school yet I think everyone would agree it had been another highly enjoyable day for students, teachers and coaches. It wouldn’t be too long until the Sports Challenge team would be back to Iona for more activities and intellectual discussions, but for the moment it was a chance to reflect on the great day for all involved.