Years 7 and 8 Football and Netball classes

Our SDP students were blessed with glorious sunshine for our excursion to Melbourne on Tuesday 27 October. After a very early start our students arrived at Flinders Street station and walked down to Alexandra Gardens to take on the famous Tan track in a handicapped race. All netballers and footballers were given a starting time based on our fitness testing results and it was fantastic to see the level of excitement in the group as they looked to take on Heartbreak Hill and the 3.8-kilometre loop of the gardens. Judd Bremner was the winner of the event for the boys while we had a 3-way tie for the girls with Lyla Edwards, Elsie Gretgrix and Chloe McSwain the winners for the girls.

From here, the group split, with the netballers heading to the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) for a talk and tour of the elite athlete training facility at Albert Park. This gave valuable insights into how our best athletes train and recover, to be at the top of their game. The VIS team also spoke to the netballers about job opportunities in the sport industry they could consider in the future.

The footballers spent the morning with an experience run by the Richmond Football Club, which included a talk about Careers in Sport. They covered possible jobs and opportunities for young people who are passionate about sport in professional sporting teams and organisations. Then students were put through a gym session by Strength and Conditioning team members at the Richmond FC Institute which was a fantastic experience of how top-level athletes train in the gym.

We look forward to many more opportunities like this for our SDP students in 2027 and beyond.