Sportswomen of SCEGGS

Next time you are in the Sports Hall, take a moment to visit the recently reinstalled Sportswomen of SCEGGS display. It celebrates the outstanding sporting achievements of  past SCEGGS students who have represented Australia at the highest level or have been pioneers in their chosen sporting field.

There are some remarkable stories on display! You may like to read of the two most recent additions to the display:

• Phyllis O’Donell fits both categories. In 1964, she was the inaugural winner of the World Surfing Championships held in Manly. Phyllis is credited with helping establish a tradition of Australian women’s surfing excellence. Nearly two decades later, in 1983, she led a group of women who broke away from Surfing Australia to form their own competition series, the Women’s Surfing Association. While this group was ultimately short-lived, its formation pushed Surfing Australia to improve conditions for female competitors.
• Marina Carrier is one of SCEGGS’ recent Olympians, having represented Australia in the Modern Pentathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.  If you look closely at the  showjumping photograph, you will notice the rather poignant absence of spectators, a reminder that the Games were held during the COVID-19 pandemic. During Marina’s career, the Modern Pentathlon involved competing in five events: fencing, swimming, show jumping and the combined laser run (running and shooting).

With Old Girls Phoebe Cridland, Amy Parmenter and Siena Green all currently competing at the national level, and many of our current students following in their footsteps, we will soon need to find more wall space to celebrate the achievements of the next generation of SCEGGS sporting stars!

Prudence Heath
SCEGGS Archivist