School Sport Competition

We run our social and school sport competitions for the social, physical and educational benefit of all involved. This not only includes the players, but the umpires, coaches and spectators as well. While winning and losing is a part of sport, and a part of life, the main aim of our competitions is enjoyment, regardless of the score.

We strongly encourage those players who have a desire to participate in competitions that focus more on results and talent development, to seek out their nearest club.

Fixtures are available to view online on this webpage or on the GameDay app. To view on the GameDay app, download it from the App Store or Google Play. Search for ‘St Clair Recreation Centre’ and navigate to the relevant competition.

Fixtures are released 1 week at a time for the first 2 weeks of the season. This is done to allow any teams that register late to join, without having to change season fixtures. Fixtures for weeks 3 and 4 are then released to allow for any other late teams to register and so we can evaluate the competitions for grading. Fixtures are then released in blocks, to allow for further grading if deemed necessary, and to allow for teams that leave or join the competition partway through the season.

At the beginning of a season, because we haven’t seen some teams play before, there can be a large gap between some teams. This is why grading occurs as the season progresses. Unfortunately, it’s always a difficult task to ensure that every team is playing against an opposition that is evenly matched. In addition, with sport there are always winners and losers. One of the purposes of our competitions is to educate people about sport and this includes losing.

On top of this, some of our competitions are already at full capacity. If we move a team from one division to another, it creates the need for an extra match timeslot which we don’t have available.

Once fixtures are released, they are made public to team coordinators, the players, coaches, parents, grandparents and anyone else who wants to view them. Even if we look at a small 6-team competition as an example, this is potentially hundreds of people that will have made arrangements based around the time of a match. This can include work, appointments, childcare and any number of other things.

While it may not be possible to move your own schedule around a certain match time, there are also many other people that have already had to change their own schedules to make it work.

The role of match officials (referees/umpires) is to officiate to the laws of the game. By doing so, it helps the players learn, develop and have fun! By having people call out or approach them while a match is being played, it hinders them from being able to do their job. Like everyone, officials sometimes make mistakes.

Like everyone, they may not see something that has happened, or may interpret it differently to someone else. Remember that they are human and are doing the best job that they can. Some of our match officials are still learning too! Be aware that officials who are still learning will either be placed on a match with a more experienced official, or monitored closely by a referee coach.

As a spectator or player, it is never OK to approach an official before, during or after a match about their performance. If you have queries, speak to your team captain/coach about them. If the team captain/coach has queries, they can approach the match officials at a designated break time (quarter or half-time) and speak with them calmly and politely about any issues.