Matt Grice, Director of Sport

Matt Grice, Director of Sport

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Cranbrook School is delighted to share the exciting news of its inclusion in the Independent Sporting Association (ISA) competition for our incoming female students. This remarkable opportunity allows Cranbrook’s future female athletes to showcase their talent and represent the school in various sports disciplines, including Netball, Basketball, Football, Touch football, Swimming, Tennis, Cross-Country and Athletics. Our female Cranbrookians will also be able to compete in CAS and state-run sports such as Volleyball, Snow Sports, AFL, Water Polo, Cricket, Rowing, and sailing.

The ISA competition brings together several independent schools in both city and regional NSW. Schools such as Barker College, Redlands, Kinross Wolaroi and Central Coast Grammar actively participate in the competition, displaying their commitment to sports and physical education. With a rich history starting in the 1990s, the ISA Sydney competition has become a highly respected association that promotes healthy competition, sportspersonship, and camaraderie among the participating schools.

Joining the ISA competition is a significant milestone for Cranbrook, as it highlights the school’s commitment to providing comprehensive and exceptional sporting opportunities for all its students. The acceptance into this esteemed association is a testament to Cranbrook’s reputation for its sports programs and the dedication of its coaches, students, and its ongoing efforts to provide a holistic education that nurtures both academic and athletic achievements. Please see this link to read more about the ISA and its history https://www.isa.nsw.edu.au/

Last weekend – It was wet… Let’s not beat around the bush as we try to come up with a way to describe Saturday. Comments such as, “This is not fun”, “Haven’t seen a day like this for a long time”. Yes, it would have been very easy to cut and paste my last sport report into this week’s report. The rain once again caused havoc across Sydney, with all of Tennis, AFL and the majority of Football cancelled. A big thank you to Mr Higgins and Mr Fernandez who were both on Dangar Tennis Courts at 6:00am desperately trying to dry the courts so our students could play. Although they lost the battle, their continued efforts are not unnoticed and are highly appreciated. Thanks to the AFL staff also who, despite all their games being rained out, facilitated optional skills session in the multi-purpose courts on Saturday for our students.

It was a huge moment in the season for our 1sts Football team as they beat Knox 3-1 on Saturday. This was an amazing and well-deserved result as they turned the tables after losing 6-1 in their first-round clash against Knox. This result sees the team move into 2nd place on the CAS Ladder and only two points now behind the ladder leaders Knox. This Saturday sees a huge match against Waverly on Hordern at 10:15am. We would love as many people as possible to cheer on the team as their momentum builds and we inch closer to the top of the CAS table. The 2nds, despite a narrow loss, remain on top on the table and will be playing at 9:00am. Well done to the entire Cranbrook Football program!

Cranbrook was honoured to be invited to be a part of Knox’s 100-year Rugby celebration on Saturday. On 21 June 1924, Knox played their first rugby match against the Cranbrook Junior House 1st team. We were back a century later in the mud. Our 1sts team were as brave as you can get and were always in the fight. Unfortunately, Knox were the deserved winners on the day. We look forward to playing Waverley this weekend, the 1sts XV on Hordern at 3:15pm.

A big congratulations to Eason Xia for winning the 2024 Australian Intermediate School Sabre Individual Gold medal. A fantastic achievement!

The Lewis Report. AFL Juniors

Another extremely wet Friday and Saturday meant many of our fixtures were once again unable to go ahead (42 out of 86 fixtures were cancelled!). This week my report is about one of the groups that were disappointingly cancelled over the weekend. 

The AFL Junior A & Bs are made up of a mix of Year 7 & 8 students. The teams represent about 45 of the 102 AFL students. The AFL community at the school is small, but tight knit. 

The vast majority of AFL grounds in Sydney are owned by councils, rather than schools. As such, we are at the mercy of the council’s decision regarding the ground status for our games.

On Saturday morning we received the unfortunate but not unexpected news that the Randwick city council had decided to close Heffron Park due to the wet weather. This meant that the AFL Junior A and B were once again left without a fixture.

However, thanks to great planning and even greater enthusiasm from the students, they were able to run a training session utilising the limited outdoor and indoor spaces available at the school. Their spirits remained high as the students participated in drills and small sided games designed to improve their skills in the wet – ready for the day the ground remains open! Soaking wet, and with smiles ear to ear, the training session finished with a great sense of team camaraderie; a session to remember! 

Well done to all the Junior AFL players on making the most of a disappointing cancellation. No doubt they, and everyone else that missed out on playing over the weekend are looking forward to this Saturday’s matches – the last before the winter holidays!

Eddie Lewis, Sport operational Coordinator P-12

Please download this weekend’s fixtures here. 

We wish to provide a gentle reminder to all families regarding our attendance policy for School Sport:

  • For Saturday Fixtures please contact your son’s Team Manager and Head of Sport to notify them of the absence – so that they can fulfil team positions and numbers
  • please provide a Medical Certificate upon return to school, if your son is sick and absent from compulsory Saturday sport.
  • please do not submit the Saturday Sport absence through the attendance digital form on the Cranbrook School app.

Please find attached here a schedule of Co-Curricular and Sport Activities here.

We have a number of Sport Holiday Camps available during the term break – details can be found under the dates section and below. 

We look forward to seeing everyone around the grounds this weekend!

Matt Grice
Director of Sport