Sport isn’t just about excellence and results. It’s also about the opportunity to take part, no matter who you are.
Sport is an integral part of the programs at Donvale Christian College, but by no means is it just about excellence or results. It’s about developing a passion for movement in young people, producing competitors who have integrity, humility and kindness – who display Kingdom values at all levels of competition.
Across both the Primary and Secondary schools, students are provided with a wide variety of sporting opportunities and events that aim to engage and challenge them outside the classroom. These include traditional sports, such as football and basketball, as well as more contemporary sports including ultimate frisbee and touch rugby.
At Donvale, we believe all students will find some form of movement and activity they enjoy.
Primary
It all starts in Primary, where weekly PE lessons focus on skill development, teamwork and strategy, while also establishing the importance of physical activity for health and wellbeing. From Year 3 students enjoy an additional weekly sport lesson where they practice the skills and strategies taught during PE in sports such as basketball, netball, hockey, touch football, soccer and lacrosse.
Students who achieve highly competitive results in the school Athletics and Cross-Country events may be selected to represent the College at interschool competitions run by School Sport Victoria (SSV). In the past few years, DCC has achieved impressive results, with many students competing in both Regional Swimming and Regional Cross Country. It has been inspiring to see our students proudly wearing the cross of Jesus on their sport polos as they actively compete to glorify Him.
Year 5 and 6 students also take part in both summer and winter interschool sport Gala Days, consisting of competitive round robin matches against nine other schools in the Ringwood North District. Many of our teams have enjoyed outstanding results at these Gala Days, subsequently progressing to Division and Regional competitions, even winning championship pennants, now proudly displayed at school.
Beyond events coordinated by SSV at a District level, talented students may even represent the College in championship days hosted by sporting bodies such as Netball Victoria, Basketball Victoria and Cricket Australia. This is in addition to the interschool sport program, and often involves lunchtime training sessions and additional coaching staff.
Secondary
So into Secondary, where students may take part in a rich variety of inter-school sports through the Eastern Independent Schools Melbourne (EISM) Sporting Association.
The College competes in inter-school carnivals against other EISM member schools in swimming, athletics and cross-country running, winning carnivals in swimming (Division 2), athletics (Division 1), and cross-country (Division 2) in recent years.
Donvale’s success in the cross-country events may of course not be unrelated to the fact that our campus, where students train, is extremely hilly…
Many students who are individually successful in these events have then gone on to use their God-given talents to represent the College at State and National competitions.
Back on campus, the Secondary House Competitions are an annual highlight. The four College Houses challenge each other to see who will be victorious in swimming, athletics, and cross-country each year. Through these carnival days, students develop the key characteristics essential for interschool and even interstate competition.
We are very proud of the sporting culture that has developed over the College's rich history and is displayed when we compete against other schools.
It is wonderful to see our students value participation, determination and the willingness to “give it their best shot,” regarding that as more important than the final score.
