Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2017

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QGSSSA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

who willingly swam the 200-metre Individual Medley as she realised this would help strengthen the overall result of, and be best for, the team. Swimming creates opportunities for friendships to develop. Anecdotally it is evident that girls form bonds with others, not only from their own Year level, but also within their age group and across Year levels. It’s not unusual to see a Year 10 student training with a Year 8 student, or a Year 12 student talking to a Year 7 student at a meet or around the School. This creates a supportive environment that helps to strengthen the ‘we’re all in this together’ mentality that is so important to help the team achieve at QGSSSA. Mullen (2016) contends that ‘swimmers on teams... learn to work together, to encourage each other, to communicate, and to become leaders.’ This in turn leads to success, both in and out of the pool. Swimming Captain Kate Norris exemplified this at QGSSSA Swimming. Her first and only event was ‘Event 1’ of the programme. Kate then spent the remainder of the evening in the lead position of the cheer squad, where she was always the first person to congratulate our swimmers as they left the water. Swimming can help children and teenagers develop life-skills and improve academic achievement. Swimming has a role in developing sportsmanship, time-management, self-discipline, resilience and an increased sense of self-worth. A Griffith Institute of Educational Research study (Jorgensen, 2013) was able to show that young children who swim could demonstrate more advanced cognitive and physical abilities compared to children who were non-swimmers, and there is potential for these swimmers to transfer these advances to their early years of schooling.

AUTHOR Ms Jane Martel

Teacher Health & Physical Education and Co-ordinator of Swimming

IN MARCH EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE 100-MEMBER STRONG 2017 BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL SWIMMING TEAM DESCENDED ON THE BRISBANE AQUATIC CENTRE, CHANDLER, TO COMPETE AT THE QUEENSLAND GIRLS’ SECONDARY SCHOOLS SPORTS ASSOCIATION (QGSSSA) SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS. LED BY SWIMMING CAPTAINS MINNA ATHERTON (12B) AND KATE NORRIS (12O), THE TEAM PERFORMED ADMIRABLY AND PLACED A WELL-DESERVED FOURTH PLACE OVERALL. THE EXCITING NIGHT WAS PUNCTUATED BY A NUMBER OF OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES BY GRAMMAR GIRLS, INCLUDING MINNA ATHERTON (12B), ELIZA KING (11E), CATHERINE McLEOD (11E) AND NIAMH BEDGGOOD (7O), ALONG WITH WONDERFUL RELAY PERFORMANCES BY 16 YEARS MEDLEY RELAY, 12 YEARS AND UNDER MEDLEY RELAY, AND THE OPEN BROCKWAY CUP TEAMS. The meet was successful in that it brought girls from a range of backgrounds and Year levels together; each with the goal of doing the best they could for the betterment of the team in what is traditionally regarded as ‘an individual sport’. For Girls Grammar this was epitomised by Minna Atherton, current 100-metre Backstroke world junior record holder,

GRAMMAR GAZETTE