Sport in the Senior School provides students with the opportunities to develop their skills to a high level of competence in a broad range of sports and promotes positive attitudes towards team and competitive sport, while stressing the importance of good sportsmanship.
Interhouse competitions in swimming and diving, athletics and cross country are also held throughout the year and all girls are encouraged to participate.
IGSSA competition
Abbotsleigh is a member of the Independent Girls’ Schools Sports Association (IGSSA) and much of the Senior School sport is based around the IGSSA calendar. IGSSA has 29 member schools, including country schools such as PLC Armidale, NEGS, Calrossy and Frensham.
IGSSA offers two Saturday sports per term as well as one-off carnivals for athletics, cross country, diving, gymnastics, swimming and tennis (Tildesley tournament). Saturday sports are: basketball, cricket, football (soccer), hockey, netball, softball, tennis and water polo.
Other sports
Abbotsleigh is also involved in several other competitions which are held mid-week or on weekends. These sports include: badminton, equestrian, golf, indoor hockey, mountain biking, sailing, snowsports, sport aerobics, surf lifesaving, tennis and touch football.
Lunchtime fitness classes are run throughout the year, every Monday to Friday. These classes are free and are open to all students of all fitness levels.
Other sports, including dance and fencing are offered through the
AbbSchool program. Year round squad training for swimming is available through the
Aquatic Centre.
Team selection and training
Trials for Saturday sports are held in the term prior to competition, in order for the staff to select the most appropriate team for each girl, and the most appropriate grade for each team.
For individual sports, squad training is held each week. We encourage girls to attend at least one training session per week with their peers, even if they may train outside the School with a private coach.
Sports by term
| Term 1 |
Term 2 |
Term 3 |
Term 4 |
| Badminton |
Athletics |
Athletics |
Cricket |
| Cross country |
Basketball |
Gymnastics |
Golf |
| Diving |
Cross country |
Hockey |
Gymnastics |
| Indoor hockey |
Football (soccer) |
Mountain biking |
Indoor hockey |
| Sailing |
Equestrian* |
Netball |
Mountain biking |
| Softball |
Mountain biking |
Snowsports** |
Surf lifesaving |
| Surf lifesaving |
Sport aerobics |
Sport aerobics |
Tennis |
| Swimming |
|
|
Touch football |
| Tennis |
|
|
Water polo |
| Triathlon |
|
|
|
* Equestrian is generally run all year round, however Term 2 is the most active for competition.
** The Snowsports competition is held in the July holidays, where girls can be chosen for representative competitions in August (state) and September (nationals).
Major carnival results – 2011
Swimming – 2nd
Diving – equal 1st
Tildesley tennis – 5th
Cross country – 2nd
Athletics – 3rd
Gymnastics – 4th