Dear Parents, 

Well, the 2020 season started so efficiently and in an organised manner! Little did we know what we were in store for.  As you may already know, GPCC Netball Club, after asking all of our members, has officially withdrawn from the Gosford Netball Associations 2020 season.  

This was a very difficult and complex decision.  Netball differs greatly to all other winter sports in that all of our games are centralized.  This has meant that the government directives about numbers of people gathering together has impacted netball enormously.  Even when we are able to have 500 people gather at one time, we still would not have been able to play games with any spectators.  Also the day for our junior players would have extended from 8am until 5pm without taking into consideration any of the senior teams needing to be slotted in.  In short, it was a nightmare. 

Gosford Netball Association is still in the process of working out 

how the season may commence.  We are really sad that our school will have no teams competing, but we are excited about what the 2021 season will be.

Thank you so much for your patience during this season.  The committee is very grateful for all the support that you have offered us, and we look forward to working with you all again next season.  We are hopeful of giving everyone a full refund for this unplayed season, but it will take time.  We need to obtain our refund from GNA first, and then hopefully Netball NSW.   

Once again, thank you for your patience, see you in 2021!

Kind regards

Raema Nash, President GPCC Netball Club

THE UNDERDOG

Everyone loves a great underdog story.

You’ve all heard of those people who come from nowhere to win. Look at this list of amazing people who were true underdogs and now are inspirations for millions.

Rudy Ruettiger, the young gridiron player who played for Notre Dame. He tried four times before being admitted at the College and then played 2 years on their football team on the Scout squad (team that prepared the Firsts for their games). He finally played in their final game in 1975, earning so much respect from his teammates for his perseverance and never-give-up attitude. He became the first Fighting Irish player to be carried off the field.

Michael Oher, who was the inspiration for the movie “The Blind Side”. He had a difficult childhood, moving from home to home. After several foster families, he was eventually adopted by the Tuohys who then encouraged him to enrol into a school, play football and chase his dreams. He was a standout in the team, and despite all of the roadblocks in his life, made it to the NFL in 2009

The 2004 Euro Cup was full of surprises. The Greek Soccer Team played exceptionally well to make the Quarters, though many held little hope as they were up against the French. At the 65^th minute mark, Greek striker Angelos Charisteas stunned the French team, scoring the goal and leading the Greeks to victory. From there, they upset the Czech team in the Semis and then went on to beat Portugal in the Final

One name that you may not have heard of is Chris Spealler. He began CrossFit in 2006 and decided to compete at the 2007 CrossFit Games. He was not a big athlete, only 5’5, though this didn’t stop him from being competitive against the best in the world. He finished 4^th overall in his first Games appearance and showed everyone that he had a “never give up” attitude. He was considered the underdog, up against many others who were bigger and stronger than him, but because of his drive, his positive attitude and great consistency, helped him walk away with a podium finish in 2010, finishing 3^rd and also receiving the Spirit of the Games Award.

Spealler has had four top 10 finishes. One of his most inspiring achievements was in 2014 where, at the age of 35 and against the toughest competition there has been, he came back from missing the Games in 2013 to then finishing 2^nd at Regionals and qualifying for the Games for the 7^th time. He is one of CrossFit’s leading ambassadors, where he inspires newcomers to the sport with his underdog spirit. 

An underdog is a “competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest.” Spealler was considered the underdog, like a true David and Goliath story, but everyone was proved wrong.

SPORT EVENTS UPDATE

Unfortunately, due to continued restrictions on large inter-school sporting events, all ZONE and CSSA Events have been cancelled for both Terms 3 and 4. 

This means that the following events will not be held: 

All CIS and NSW All School events for both Primary and Secondary have also been cancelled for the remainder of the year.

We are planning at holding our Athletics and Cross Country Carnivals this semester, with final dates to be confirmed soon. Information about these carnivals will be sent to parents in the coming weeks. 

INTERSCHOOL COMPETITIONS 

Interschool GPCC sport has resumed this term for Primary with a number of events scheduled to occur:

• House Sport                                                   

House Sport for Years 3-6 students will begin in Week 3 from 2:15pm-3:15pm. Students will be placed into their House teams and play a variety of sports in a competitive format. Results are recorded and tallied for the coveted House Trophy

• Woolworths Cricket Cup Gala Day               

Year 5 and 6 Boys/Girls - Boys and Girls teams will be chosen at trials the first 3 weeks of this term.

• Interschool Competitions                             

We are planning at having some friendly competitions against local schools in a range of sports. Details will be sent to parents soon.