St Mary’s College conducts three College carnivals throughout the year.

• Swimming
• Cross Country
• Athletics

Participation at these carnivals is based on inter house competition and is also an opportunity for talented athletes to be selected to represent the College. From these carnivals the College selects representative teams to compete at Diocesan competition, providing a pathway to NSW Combined Catholic Colleges and NSW All Schools.
The St Mary’s Athletics Carnival is a compulsory College day for Years 7-12 students and all students are expected to attend. The Swimming Carnival is compulsory for all Year 7 students and competitors only for Year 8 to Year 12.
The College Cross Country Carnival is run at Lang Park. It is an inclusive event for all Year 7 students. Students from other years are invited to take part. This is an opportunity for students to gain selection to represent the College at the Diocesan, CCC or All Schools Cross Country.
Our College carnivals provide healthy rivalry between our 8 College House teams. Points are awarded for participation and placings in events, as well as bonus points for house spirit.

St Mary’s College offers the opportunity for students to represent the College through Diocesan and State competitions. Competitions and trials are organised through the Wollongong Diocese Sport Council and NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Sports Association. Team selections and training are organised through the respective coaches and team managers. Training may be before school, after hours, or at lunch times.

Sports such as Athletics, Aerobics, Basketball, Cross Country, AFL, Golf, Hockey, Netball, Football, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Touch, Triathlon, Volleyball are available for the students to trial and compete in the school year. These are convened through the Wollongong Diocese Sports Council, or NSW CSSS. Girls can also represent the College in Surfing, Equestrian, Downhill Skiing and Dragon Boat Racing as additional sports organised by independent organisations.

Students may progress through representative pathways from the college right through to NSW State All School and National All Schools Teams. The pathway may vary from one sport to another.

For some sports, the Wollongong Diocese Sports Council will select a Diocesan team from the Diocesan Competitions. Students will then attend a NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Carnival where they may gain selection. If successful, they will then attend a NSW All Schools Carnival where they may gain selection in the NSW All Schools team. This is the pathway for sports such as Swimming, Cross Country, Football, Touch. Athletics representatives progress to the NSW CCC level. Beyond this point, individual athletes can nominate themselves to attend NSW All Schools Athletics, which is organised through NSW Little Athletics and is not under the umbrella of School Sport Australia.

For other sports, athletes can nominate to attend selection trials for NSW CCC teams. Parents must register their daughter on the CSSS website to enter the trials, and this must be approved by the Principal and Sports Coordinator. Athletes must make their own way to the trials to compete. If selected in the NSW CCC team, they will then compete at the NSW All Schools Carnival to vie for selection in the NSW All Schools Team to attend the School Sport Australia carnival. This is the case for sports such as Basketball, Netball, Hockey, Tennis, Volleyball, Diving, Softball, Triathlon, Cricket, Golf and AFL.

St Mary’s is proud to have had many girls gain NSW CCC Selection in a wide variety of sports over the past ten years, particularly in Hockey, Basketball, Swimming, Cross Country, Netball, Triathlon, Athletics and Tennis, as well as several girls selected in NSW All Schools teams (swimming, basketball, cross country and hockey) and one in the National SSA Basketball team. Four St Mary’s Students have gained Basketball scholarships to attend colleges in USA after graduating from Yr 12.

St Mary’s also enters teams in NSW CCC carnivals in Football, Netball, Basketball and Hockey. Teams that win these carnivals may progress to play in NSW All Schools Championships and progress to National carnivals. SMC has experienced success with winning NSW CCC Championships during the past ten years in Basketball, Netball and Hockey. In this time our Open Basketball team progressed to win the NSW All schools in 2006 and finished runner up at School Sport Australia Basketball in the same year.

St Mary’s is a strong contender across a wide variety of sports at the local level, winning the prized Vince Villa Trophy for Girls Point Score in the Wollongong Diocesan Sports Awards for most of the past 18 years since it’s inauguration. Many St Mary’s girls have gained sports awards at the annual Diocesan Sport Awards Presentation night. Several St Mary’s students have gained recognition at the annual NSW CCC Sports Awards presentations across a wide variety of sports, with one named NSW CCC Most Outstanding Sportswoman in 2006.

For more information on representative pathways, please go to the following websites:

Diocese of Wollongong Sport page.

Catholic Schools Sport Services.

The sports program is designed to provide Year 7-8 students with the opportunity to develop game skills, coordination, fitness and competition experience.

Students in Year 7 and 8 will be organised in House groups to rotate through a range of sports both here at the college and in the local community. This will provide a range of sporting experiences to develop skills, coordination, and fitness, as well as an opportunity to develop friendships.

Sports on offer include: Latin Dance, Golf, Gymnastics, Indoor Rock Climbing, Martial Arts self- defence, Super Circuit/Gym, Spin class, Surf Awareness, Tennis, Water Polo, Netball, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Yoga, Savvy Fitness, Zumba, Stand Up Paddleboard and Spin Cycle classes.

All Year 7s will attend the Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals. Students are encouraged to wear their House Colours and participate in events to earn points.

This program provides the opportunity for students to participate in a variety of sporting and recreational activities on a fortnightly basis. The location of the College allows students to select from a wide range of sporting and recreational pursuits in the local area.

Students select a sport or recreational activity for each school term. They may select activities such as Aerobics, Golf, Soccer, Gymnastics, Indoor Rock Climbing, Power Walking, Spin Cycling, Latin Dance, Martial Arts, Super Circuit/Gym, Surf Awareness, Tennis, Water Polo, Netball, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Yoga, Circus Sports, Savvy Fitness, Modern Dance, Zumba and Stand Up Paddleboarding.

The Year 9-10 Recreational Sport Program is run every second Friday. The cost of the activities varies between facilities. The cost may vary from no charge up to $14 per session. Families will be billed through school fees based on student enrolment in sports.

Transport for both Yr 7-8 and 9-10 Sport programs may be by walking or bus transport to and from local venues. Some sports are offered here at the college. Students are dismissed after all sports from the college at 3.15pm.

During the year students from Years 7-12 are invited to join afternoon sporting competitions run and organised by local sporting associations. Students may enter as a team or as an individual who is placed into a team. Volleyball, Basketball, Futsal, AFL, Oz Tag and/or Touch competitions are available for the students to play on a weekly basis after College hours or on weekends. The availability of sporting facilities and sporting seasons will determine when these competitions are offered. The competitions are not compulsory and are run at the expense of the participant.

Students are required to pay for insurance, registration, administration costs (Volleyball, Basketball and Touch) and for uniform hire (Touch/Basketball only).

Parents are invited to assist teams as coaches and/or managers as teachers are not usually involved in these extra-curricular activities.

Competitions will be advertised via the college SEQTA notices, the newsletters and the sports noticeboard.