News & Announcements

Reconciliation means: “The process of two people or groups in a conflict agreeing to make amends or come to a truce”. It is often stated that Reconciliation is ‘Everyone’s Business’ and the idea of all sports, regardless of whether players are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples or not, coming together to recognise this event is very powerful. It is about standing in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples from all over the country to pay respect and promote Reconciliation as an important issue in Australia, and for non-Indigenous Australians to come together with Indigenous Australians to acknowledge the past and work together for a more equitable future for all.

The National Reconciliation Week theme for 2024, Now More Than Ever, is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will - and must - continue.

Our Association believes that acknowledging Reconciliation plays a very important role in helping to change the mindset of all Australians. It is also an opportunity for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to see their cultures being celebrated within their schools during this time.

Now more than ever, we need to tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation.

Now more than ever, the work continues…….

In truth-telling, understanding our history, education, and tackling racism. We need connection. We need respect. We need action. And we need change.  

Now more than ever, we need Reconciliation.

On 23rd February we were lucky enough to have members of the Australian Womens Water Polo Team, along with their coach, Paul Oberman to attend our Round 1 games at the Adelaide Aquatic centre, North Adelaide.

During their visit they helped coach some of the teams and mentored individuals whilst games were played. It was a great experience for all of the students involved and it gave them an insight into what pathways our competition can lead into.

We were also very fortunate to have old Scholars, Tayla Dawkins from St Michael's College and Tahlia Scipioni from Saint Ignatius College who have gone on to become Australian Youth & Junior Squad representatives. Both girls started their Water Polo Career in our competition playing for their school and have now gone on to coach teams from their old schools.

Back L- R. AUS Junior Squad rep. Tahlia Scipioni, AUS Women's coach, Paul Oberman and AUS Youth & Junior Squad rep. and Tayla Dawkins. 

Front. L-R AUS women's squad reps. Genevieve Longman - Balmain Tigers, Madelaine Steer - Queensland Thunder and Danijela Jackovich - Cronulla Sharks.

Pool- Pembroke and Loreto Senior Division B Players

To coincide with National Reconciliation Week, South Australian Catholic secondary school sports associations have celebrated a Reconciliation Round of sports fixtures, including netball and AFL football.

The round gives schools and students an opportunity to contribute to the national effort of making a significant change in mindset in Australia to achieve reconciliation.

Some schools marked the round by wearing Indigenous design sports uniforms custom-created by students to tell their own personal stories.

The Reconciliation Round was inspired by the 2022 National Reconciliation Week theme, “Be Brave. Make Change” which asks everyone to make change beginning with brave actions in their daily lives – where they live, work, play and socialise.

“The Reconciliation Round is so important because it raises awareness of the struggles that our indigenous brothers and sisters have had to endure over many years,” said Kath McGuigan, Chairperson, Executive Committee of the South Australian Catholic Secondary School Girls Sports Association (SACSSGSA).

“The Reconciliation Round is a sign of hope that the lives of our indigenous Australians will improve and that we will celebrate, honour and respect the immense contribution of one of the oldest civilizations in the world.”

Some schools recognised the round with Welcome to Country and smoking ceremonies before the games, conducted by representatives from local Indigenous communities.

Some schools took it a step further and created meaningful indigenous sport uniforms, including St Mary’s College, Adelaide whose Open A1 and A2 netball teams wore custom-designed netball dresses on June 4 for their games against St Michael's and Mercedes Colleges.

St Mary’s students Heather Ferguson and Abby Cenko were inspired to design an indigenous netball uniform to start a conversation and support change in their school community, following an immersion trip last year where they deeply experienced the Adnyamathanha culture and learned about their history and story.

They connected with Aboriginal artist David Booth from the Warumugu people near Tenant Creek who also has links to the Yuggera people in Brisbane. 

David ran multiple sessions with the two senior netball teams teaching them about Indigenous stories and how art is one form of telling a story. The students then workshopped their own ‘St Mary's Netball Story’ using indigenous symbols, which David used as inspiration to create one large piece of artwork which then formed the Netball dress design.

“We are incredibly grateful for David's time, and we think the dress captures the values of the netball program, which we will be honoured to wear the uniform during the Indigenous Round,” said Amanda Shattock, Netball Coordinator, St Mary’s College.

The First XVIII football team from St Michael’s College, Henley Beach wore an Indigenous guernsey proudly designed by Year 12 student Halle Rigney for their Reconciliation Round games.

In describing the design, Halle said she wanted to include her own totem and Indigenous background, whilst also incorporating the College into the design.

“The Kungari (black swan) on the front of the guernsey symbolises my nation groups totem of the Ngarrindjeri peoples who’s rwi (land) are the lower rivers Murray, Lakes and Coorong. The groups surrounding the Kungari (black swan) symbolise my journey from Year 7 to Year 12 and symbolise a few boys in the First XVIII whose final year it is. The footprints surrounding the meeting groups are each boy’s journey to playing for the College team and their journey in life and paving the way for their future, and how the St Michael’s community and culture will stick with us forever.”

Rostrevor College’s First XVIII Indigenous guernsey was designed by former boarding student Marcus McGregor-Cassady. The circular dot formations throughout the piece represent each player and their families. All are connected by straight lines to represent the journey taken to get to Rostrevor College, while the central circle represents all the journeys coming together as one. The three yellow boomerangs represent the pillars of Spirituality, Academic and Co-curricular and the two hands symbolise the helping hands of Rostrevor’s ‘Men for Others’.

The Reconciliation Round will conclude this weekend, with the boy’s association holding the round across two weeks so all teams have their chance to celebrate the round at their home ground within the home and away draw.

We're so happy to be coming to you live from our brand new SA Catholic Secondary School Girls' Sports Association website!

We're hoping that this is a useful resource for all things Sports for girls in Catholic secondary school settings. We hope to showcase our member school students sporting achievements with photos, latest news, carnivals and premiership tables and we'll be housing all resources such as rules, score cards, policies and procedures, venues and more on this site.

Take a look around.