Scotch College

Snowsports@Scotch

Snowboarding and skiing for pleasure and competition continues to ignite great passion among the past and present members of the Scotch community.

WORDS: MR CAMERON CUTCHIE – Teacher-in-Charge SNOWSPORTS INTERSCHOOLS and MS CATH GARRETT – Teacher-in-Charge SNOWSPORTS CAMPS Photography: Fun Photos and Ms Di Ling

This year over 200 Scotch boys are again involved in the Scotch snowsports program. Whether they are involved in the camps program, the inter-school competition, or are boarders on a weekend trip to Mt Buller and the Boarders’ Lodge at Mansfield – snowboarding and skiing ignite great passion and friendship among Scotch boys.

The Snowsports Camps program involves as many students as possible in as many activities as possible. This year we continued the tradition of our Mt Hotham ski trip, where 28 energetic students skied and boarded all over the mountain during the last week of the Term 2 break. It allowed our more experienced snowsports enthusiasts to gain greater experience and to practise and enhance their skills. Later in Term 3, 28 Year 7 and 8 students attended the Mt Buller Beginners’ Camp, ably run by Mr Merange, Mr Glover, Mr Argent and Mr Monahan. This is a unique experience where the students are mentored by our staff on a four-day experience which aims to engender not only a passion for snowsports, but also a sense of accomplishment at achieving in a challenging activity. Fourteen boys and two staff will travel to Niseko for a week of snowboarding and skiing in December, with a cultural stopover in Tokyo on the way home.

This year marks the 52nd year of inter-school snowsports competition. Now, more than 150 schools and over 2,000 competitors join us annually to contest seven different events in three disciplines. Our 2009 team consists of almost 100 boys from Prep to Year 12, and is led by captains Tom Browne and Jonny O’Brien. The team will contest all events and disciplines offered at the Inter-schools. Every year more Scotch boys are enjoying the time spent with mates as they compete for school pride.

Congratulations to Adam Brown (Year 10) who was selected to join the Australian junior national ski team. Adam joins many Old Scotch Collegians who have represented Australia on skis including Ivor Kingsley Whittaker (’28), Archibald John Kay Aitken (’47), Antony Bruce Wenzel (’55), Simon Leonard McInnes Brown (’60), Colin Maxwell Young (’68), Stewart David Baron (’74) and Ian Watkin Federigo McLennan (’05). In his short career, Adam has already represented Australia three times at the Whistler Cup, was Australian slalom champion in 2005, and Inter-schools alpine champion in 2007. In 2008 Adam entered the open alpine division as first year FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski), achieving a world ranking in the top 10 percent for his age. Adam will be busy as he balances Scotch VCE studies with training and racing commitments in both hemispheres. He will be proudly skiing again for Scotch at the Inter-schools in August.

The Scotch Snowsports program aims to give as many boys as possible the chance to snowboard and ski both competitively and for recreation. Parents and Old Boys often say they thank Scotch for their passion for snowboarding and skiing. We look forward to a successful 2009. GS