Sydney High School Old Boys Union

The SHSOBU Golf will be held on Thursday 15 April 2010 at the Ryde Parramatta Golf Club.

For details, contact John Kelly: 0412 303 124, johnkelly@ozemail.com.au

All Old Boys, current rowers, and their families are invited to the BACK-TO–THE-SHEDS DAY, for a special 50 year celebration regatta and shed barbecue on Saturday, 24 October 2009 at the Outterside Centre, 5 Teviot Avenue, Abbotsford.

An early start

Back to the Sheds Day is an opportunity for Old Boys, parents and supporters to have a social morning back at the sheds. We will welcome some of the winning 1959 Head of the River crew this year as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of their win.

There will be rowing races on from 7.30am.

A crew of ‘young’ old boys will challenge the School VIIIs, and there will be races for the ‘High Rowing Challenge’ crews - parents, friends and Old Boys. The final race will be a showcase challenge between the Old Boys and a school VIII.

At around 9:30am there will be Speeches and the 1959 crew will present the ‘High Rowing Challenge Oar’.

Outterside Centre - Aerial View

There will be a barista coffee cart from 7am, and the barbeque will be fired up from 8am with bacon and egg rolls, and the traditional High burgers.

The rowing committee hopes you can join us to cheer on the crews and meet some of High’s past rowers and supporters.

Further details: Back to the sheds 2009

Over 200 Sydney Boys’ High students travelled up the highway to Armidale last weekend for the annual sporting visit to The Armidale School (TAS). Sydney High fielded 11 Rugby teams, two Football teams, two Basketball teams, Tennis and Rifle Shooting teams.

For the first time in four years, the High 1st XV defeated TAS 1st XV in a thrilling and close encounter.

High 14As defeated TAS 14As 35 – 0.
High 14Bs defeated TAS 14Bs 22 – 17.
High 13As defeated TAS 13As 29 – 27.

In addition, High’s Football 1st XI defeated TAS 3 – 1 and our Basketball 1sts were victors 54 – 25.

The Rugby results attest to the new regime of skills and resistance training that is proving to be a valuable foundation for all our rugby players. The commitment of the 1st and 2nd XV squads to seven sessions per week of training, including weights and speed/endurance sessions, is setting a strong example for the rest of the School.

The 13s and 14s results also point to some success from our planned program to build, from the junior school up, the participation rates, skills and strength of Rugby at High.

The coordinated, three-sessions-a-week coaching program for all 13s to 16s teams is well under way for this season and we now have 15 old boys regularly coaching our junior rugby teams.

The High 1st XV v TAS 1st XV GPS trial match has traditionally been a close, hard fought encounter.

This year was no exception with the teams going try for try. High scored first with a thrilling intercept try. TAS soon responded. Scores were locked at 12-all and then 17-all. With ten minutes to go, TAS scored to take the match to 22 – 17.

Urged on by the palpable High Spirit and a relentless drive to not give up, our boys responded with a converted try to take and keep the victory 24 – 22.

The High forwards were relentless in the rucks and in defence. Our back line penetrated well for the whole match, demonstrating enhanced skill levels and fitness. At the final siren, the 1st XV was stormed from the sidelines by the 200 strong High contingent, celebrating a hard earned win for what seemed like all High Rugby players.

The School is looking forward to the High v Grammar rugby matches on Saturday 20 June at McKay Oval. All our teams will play, with the 1st XV taking the field at 3pm, in the last trial before the GPS competition starts on 27 June. As our Rugby fixtures are combined with Grammar (for this year only), this will be the only opportunity to see all our teams at McKay this year.

Our teams will also play Grammar in the last round of the GPS competition on 5 September at Grammar’s Weigal Ground at Rushcutters Bay. We hope that Old Boys and other members of the High Community will put these dates in their diaries to come along and support the 1st XV in their annual quest v Grammar.

The OBU and the High Club are among those who have offered support for the School’s rugby revival. If you would like to help in any way, please contact the MIC Rugby, Geoff Stein (1973) via the School, or the President of the Rugby Committee, Geoff Andrews. Progress with the rugby program will continue to be communicated to the High community throughout the year.

Sydney Boys High Rugby Committee
31 May 2009

Parents or members of our Alumni community can also contact Geoff Andrews, President High Rugby Committee, if they would like to discuss any aspect of the High rugby program.
Geoff Andrews
9386 9957
an53696@bigpond.net.au

The 2009 GPS Old Boys Annual Golf Day will be held at Manly Golf Club - Thursday 14 May 2009. (Please note the unexpected change to an earlier date.) Further details are available on the entry form.

To register your interest, or to volunteer to organise a Sydney High group, please contact president@shsobu.org.au

There was a reference in the media today (Sydney Morning Herald, 25 February 2009), to changes that have occurred to Sydney Boys High and Sydney Grammar Schools’ participation in the GPS rugby competition.

As the School announced last year, High and Grammar will share rugby fixtures this year, with Grammar competing in First XV and A-team fixtures and High in Third XV and B-team fixtures.

The High v Grammar first grade match will take place as usual in the last round of the 2009 competition and it is possible that High may play some other GPS First XV teams in other rounds of the competition.

These changes have been temporarily introduced as part of our planned process of building the participation rates, skills, strength and success of rugby at High, from the junior school up.

All other sports at High will be unaffected by this temporary arrangement and there is no impact upon High’s status as a GPS school.

There has been a resurgence of rugby in High’s junior years. In 2008 we fielded four 13s teams for the first time in at least 10 years. Last year’s 16As defeated Newington to record High’s first win in an
A v A match for many years.

We are planning to field 16 rugby teams this year compared with
13 teams last season. A coordinated, three-sessions-a-week coaching program for all junior rugby teams commenced last year and we now have about 15 old boys regularly coaching our teams.

The skills and resistance training regime that has been introduced progressively throughout the School, is being well attended by rugby players. Their attendance is logged and individually tracked to assist players in fulfilling their preparation requirements for the rugby season. We are on the path!

We are extremely proud and supportive of all our boys’ sporting efforts and achievements. As any long term follower of school boy sports will have observed, there are often cycles in popularity of the different sports offered at school.

Just as a couple of examples, Sydney Boys High currently fields 18 cricket teams, unmatched by any other school in the GPS competition, 28 football teams and 32 basketball teams. Our basketball teams throughout many age groups are earning successes in the GPS competition, culminating in our basketball Firsts and Seconds posting historic wins over Riverview, the strongest basketball school in the GPS competition.

Over 85% of our students participated in GPS Saturday sport last year. Their participation is voluntary not mandatory.

Whatever the score, our philosophy at High is safe, enjoyable and successful participation for all and any boy who plays his chosen sport.

The OBU and the High Club are among those who have offered support for the School’s rugby revival. If you would like to help in any way, please contact the MIC Rugby, Mr Stein via the School, or the President of the Rugby Committee, Geoff Andrews. Progress with the rugby program will be communicated to the High community throughout the year.

Sydney Boys High Rugby Committee
24 February 2009

Parents or members of our Alumni community can also contact
Geoff Andrews, President High Rugby Committee, if they would like to discuss any aspect of the High rugby program.

Geoff Andrews
9386 9957
an53696@bigpond.net.au

Musketeers of the mud, 1939

The Headmaster, Dr K A Jaggar, issued the following statement in the School’s publication, High Notes on 22 August 2008:

After receiving advice from the team doctor and after a briefing from the first XV coach and the strength and conditioning coach, I held a meeting with the senior rugby group. For reasons of duty of care and discipline, I told them that depending on their training and physical preparation we might have to forfeit the Riverview first XV game and that, thereafter I would decide at what level they would participate for the rest of the season. I stipulated that during the July holidays and in the first week of term 3, 18 adequately signed logbooks representing 3 weeks of appropriate preparation, needed to be produced for the team to face a Riverview 1st XV. Mr Scrivener’s records did not indicate that sufficient boys had done the training required by the first Wednesday of term 3. Consequently, I took the decision to withdraw High from the GPS competition in first and second grade and to seek more competitive fixtures. High played Riverview 4ths. Subsequently, the compliance with the training log regulation improved, but not enough to risk a higher level game. High played competitively against King’s 6ths, Shore 4ths and Newington 3rds. This week [23 August 2008], they will play Scots 4ths. I have indicated to Mr Scrivener that if the training regime is maintained SHS will play 1st XV against SGS in the last round.

The structural problem of mismatches at first grade level has not been solved. Dr Vallance (Head of SGS) and I, after a joint meeting with Masters-in-charge of Rugby and Heads of Sport, have agreed in principle on a solution to our rugby fixtures problem for 2009 only. Association Football will be unaffected by the arrangement. The details of the agreement were approved at a meeting of the AAGPS this week. SGS and SHS will merge rugby fixtures and follow the SGS draw for home and away fixtures. All schools except High and Grammar will have a rugby bye round. SHS v SGS will take place as usual in the last round of the competition. In the age groups 13-16, SGS will play at A-C-E level and SHS will play B-D-F teams against the four largest rugby schools (TKS, SIC, Shore, SJC). In the open grades, SGS takes 1st and 2nd grade, High will play 3rds against TKS, SIC, Shore and SJC. By agreement with the Sports Masters at SHS, TSC, NC and SGS, there will be flexibility in some fixtures for rounds 5, 6 and 7 so that, depending on the strength of our 1st XV, it may play more than one GPS fixture at first grade level next year. This can be achieved by SHS playing at 1st or 2nd XV level against the school that has the bye round in rugby when they are scheduled to play High.

The GPS Heads will have further discussions about the future structure of the GPS Rugby Competition.

This post is open for comment. All comments are subject to moderation. Opinions expressed on this website are not necessarily those of the Sydney High School Old Boys’ Union Inc or its individual officers.

A merry “sing-song” at the Rowing Camp, 1938

A Back-to-the-Sheds Day will be held at the Outterside Centre, Abbotsford on the morning of Saturday 25 October 2008.

The old boy crew that bought their seats at the Rowing Reunion Dinner earlier this year will race the School’s 1st and 2nd VIIIs. The Old Boy crew are:

1.. Simon McNamara (1990)
2.. Craig Avery (1984)
3.. Lawson Donald (1991)
4.. Justin Ingram (1989)
5.. John Croll (1981)
6.. Jack Singleton (1990)
7.. Sebastian Pearce (1989)
8.. Brett Jowett (1981)

.. with possibly Oliver Wilson (2001) as cox.

There will also be an unveiling of the “Commander Callaway” name plate that James Ritchie (1960) and John Croll (1981) donated to be hung at the Outterside Centre.

Full details: Back to the sheds day invitation.

Photographs from the rowing reunion dinner held on 11 April 2008 may be viewed at this link.

The GPS Gold Challenge brings together Old Boys from the nine GPS Schools who have just, or are about to, reach the milestone of 50 years of age to compete against one another across 8 disciplines - golf, rowing, tennis, touch rugby, cricket, athletics, swimming and, during the Closing Dinner, debating.

This year marks the 9th and 10th GPS Gold Challenges with both Alumni 1975 and Alumni 1976 competing for the Aub Thomas Memorial Trophy.

It will be held at Newington College on Saturday 27 September 2008, with the rowing competition being held first thing in the morning at Leichhardt Rowing Club, and the golf being conducted at the Ryde Parramatta Golf Club the day before, Friday 26 September.

The key lessons from previous years are that the greater the numbers of participants, the more enjoyment for all. It is not necessary to roll out the 1st grade teams from 30 years ago, so it is an opportunity for all to participate in a number of sports. High has never won the overall Trophy and it would be appropriate to do that in 2008, the School’s 125th Anniversary.

1975 leavers, please contact Paul Veltman (ph: 0418 523 143 or pveltman@bigpond.net.au ); 1976 leavers, please contact Richard Luxford (ph: 0408 967413 or richardluxford@hotmail.com )