ST DUNSTAN'S COLLEGE

Preparatory Sport

ST DUNSTAN'S COLLEGE

Preparatory Sport

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To Inspire So That All Flourish

ST DUNSTAN'S COLLEGE - PREPARATORY

Sport Report 2023

It is with great pleasure that I report on the 2023 sporting year at St Dunstan’s College Preparatory School. It has been an exciting, successful and eventful year. Our pupils have been involved and engaged in the sports programme, and have shown a great deal of confidence when playing sport for the school.

Our summer sports programme got the year started; setting the tone for an extremely busy first term. The investment in the Preparatory School swimming pool has already shown great dividends as we were able to enter an A and B swimming team in the league galas. Our pupils have been able to focus on swimming over a number of weeks in their physical education lessons, and this has assisted in building our team numbers. Both teams earned respectable placings in their respective inter-primary galas.

Our stronger athletes had the chance of qualifying for the greater town, district and provincial meetings and we are pleased with the progression of these athletes. Cricket, softball and tennis saw increased participation in all three of these traditional, summer sports. The first term culminated with the hosting of the second annual 3-IN-1 Winter Sports Festival. We welcomed travelling teams from the Free State and Mpumalanga, as well a host of local schools. The festival was once again a great success and we plan to build on this in the years to come.

The winter season was no less busy, with matches beginning at the start of the second term. The football teams experienced a tough season in the Benoni Football League. There were mixed results for the various age groups, with the under 9 A and under 13A teams qualifying for the quarter-finals. From a netball perspective, this was arguably one of the most successful seasons for St Dunstan’s. Seven out of eight teams qualified for the district playoffs with a number of teams achieving a top 3 placing at these playoffs. The under 12 and under 13 A teams also enjoyed a wonderful tour to Penryn in Nelspruit.

The hockey teams can be proud of their season. The school was able to form a first and second team for both boys and girls, as well as two teams for the under 11 girls, and an under 11 boys’ team. All of these teams were extremely competitive and achieved brilliant results throughout the season. The first team boys and girls enjoyed another amazing tour to the Midlands, giving them the opportunity of playing against schools from around the country. Towards the end of the term the rugby boys played in a number of weekend 7s festivals. The number of boys playing rugby is pleasing to see and will assist in developing rugby as a school sport.
The cross country athletes had the opportunity to run at eight different meetings, and we had good representation at the greater town, and district meeting. It has been good to see how this team has grown in strength, and numbers over the last couple of years.

We were pleased to run our full inter-house athletics programme at the preparatory school for the first time, with a full 400m track, and field-events facilities. The athletes had a short season at the start of the third term. However, having our own facilities certainly increased the number of participants and the competition within the team.

The summer sports got back into the swing of things in the third term. Our girls’ tennis team played fixtures against the Johannesburg all-girls schools – a first for our team – and managed some good results while being exposed to a higher level of tennis. The cricket teams continued with their matches and the first, and under 11 team enjoyed a wonderful tour to Uplands College; always a highlight on the cricketing calendar. Our softball teams played against many of the Johannesburg co-ed schools and achieved fantastic results. The golfers also enjoyed successful fixtures against both local, and schools further afield. A trip to Leopard Creek inspired many of the golfers to show even more interest in the sport.

As a school, we push for maximum participation in our sports and cultural offering. Our boys’ and girls’ abilities range from beginners through to provincial, and national-level sportsmen and women. There was provincial and / or national representation in swimming, hockey, athletics, football, tennis, dance sport, and equestrian. Many of these pupils began their sporting journey as part of the Junior Preparatory sports programme. We once again experienced fantastic seasons and good representation in all of our mini sports, including tennis, cricket, hockey, football, netball and t-ball.

Thanks are expressed to the Headmaster, Council, and PA for their support throughout the year. I am equally grateful for the support shown by our parent body. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many parents attending a wide range of activities across the campus throughout the year. Our gratitude extends to our estate and grounds personnel for the preparation of the facilities we are able to enjoy on a daily basis. The efforts of our staff and coaches have been admirable and I thank them all for the hours spent coaching and preparing teams to give of their best. Well done to all of our pupils for making this a special sporting year!

Mr C Tucker
Director of Sport

ST DUNSTAN'S COLLEGE PREPARATORY

Sport Codes

boys-athletics

Preparatory

Athletics

boys-cricket

Preparatory

Cricket

cross-country

Preparatory

Cross Country

equestrian

Preparatory

Equestrian

boys-football

Preparatory

Football

boys-golf

Preparatory

Golf

girls-hockey

Preparatory

Hockey

girls-netball

Preparatory

Netball

boys-rowing

Preparatory

Rowing

boys-rugby

Preparatory

Rugby

girls-tennis

Preparatory

Squash & Tennis

boys-swimming

Preparatory

Swimming