SA School Sport Awards: Immanuel College open girls basketball team claims three-peat state champs
Rising basketballers have made history after claiming a three-peat grand final win. They have been nominated for the 2020 School Sports Awards – find out how to nominate your team here.
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Immanuel College basketballers have become queens of the court after dominating school competitions for the past three years in a row.
The Novar Gardens College’s Girls Open A basketball side won the School Sport SA Championship and the independent Girls’ Schools South Australia premiership for the third year in a row.
The team has not lost a game over the past three years, making it the school’s most successful girls basketball team in its 125-year history.
Immanuel’s incredible feat has led to it being nominated for a Messenger School Sports Award.
The awards are a joint initiative of The Advertiser, The Messenger and the Department for Education.
The team beat Seymour College in the independent Girls’ Schools SA competition 61-17, and Tenison Woods Catholic School in the State School Knockout Championships 53-42.
Co-captain and Year 12 student Sophie Miles was proud of her side and its efforts over the past three years.
“It’s really special because all the girls are friends,” Miles said.
“We’ve got really good chemistry and everyone looks forward to coming out to trainings and games, which makes us play well as a team.
“(The nomination) shows how much work we put in and I think we deserve it because our past few years have been really special.”
The coronavirus pandemic halted the girls’ chances of taking to the court in the national championships, in which they have come second (2018) and fourth (2019) during the past two years.
It forced organisers to cancel the 2020 national school competition.
But Miles said the side was grateful to have got an opportunity to play in the SA competitions given other states, including Victoria, had all their competitions cancelled.
Teammate and Year 11 Annelise Romanuik said being involved in the side helped with handling the challenges of COVID-19.
“This year has been really fun and we’d been able to enjoy playing basketball every week and forget about the other worries of the year,” Romanuik said.
“We have a lot of talent but we also work well as a team and like spending time with each other and that’s part of why we do so well.
“Our team is probably the strongest so to be part of it has been lots of fun and hopefully we can do the same next year.”
The School Sports Awards recognise and reward the outstanding sporting achievements of young people in our community.
There will be three major award categories in 2020 – individual female and male, rural and metropolitan, primary and secondary with eight finalists awards.
Young people between the ages of 10 and 18 who are enrolled in an SA primary or secondary school are eligible to be nominated.
To nominate a team, individual or an official, click here.
The winners will be announced in December.
