Yarraville SDS goes back-to-back at State Carnival
They have done it again! Yarraville Special Development School has gone back to back in the 2016 State All Abilities Bowls Carnival, hosted at Darebin City Bowling Club.
In an event where all students tried their hand at six different Junior Jack Attack games (‘Roll to a target’, ‘Obstacles’, ‘In the Zone’, ‘Beat the Goalie’, ‘Grand Canyon’ and the ever popular ‘Bowls Footy’) across three divisions, the highest total score on the day went to Yarraville!
After filing into the Darebin International Sport Centre, 13 specialist and special developmental schools with over 150 kids, as well as all of the RMIT Students began their morning on the indoor green doing the YMCA dance to get everyone ready for the event!
The RMIT students then coordinated and assisted students take part in the circuit of activities, scoring points to see who would be crowned champions. When the kids weren’t having a bowl, they were dancing on the green, ‘dabbing’ and requesting Justin Bieber & One Direction to be played over the speaker system… immediately!
Once each school had completed their six activities and had their lunch – they came back to the indoor green to have another dance to Justice Crew and find out the winners!
Well done to Tim and Yarraville SDS for winning the School Sport Victoria State Championship – 2 years in a row!
A special mention also goes to runners-up, Western Autistic School – who exploded in happiness after being announced Runners Up and if we had an award for it, they would have definitely taken out best celebration as well. Other winners on the day included; Sunshine SDS and Melton.
The State All Abilities Bowls Carnival is the final stage of Bowls Victoria’s All Abilities Bowls program. The program is run with the support of RMIT University, School Sport Victoria and Sport & Recreation Victoria (SRV). The program is supported under SRV’s Supporting Victorian Sport & Recreation program, aiming to increase participation in sport, throughout the community and follows on from the work Bowls Victoria undertook in the Access for All Abilities program.
Bowls Victoria deliver professional development for all of the RMIT students assisting with the program, as part of their Modified and Adaptive Sport unit in their course. The students then go and facilitate four weeks of clinics using modified games and equipment from the Jr. Jack Attack kit, at specialist and special developmental schools around Melbourne. These clinics also include a visit to a local bowls club, where students can experience the club environment and prepare for the State Carnival. This visit also aims to create links for students and their families to continue participation with their local clubs.
This program wouldn’t be possible without the support and guidance of Kathy Tessier and the staff and students at RMIT. Their 90 students provide outstanding enthusiasm and support for all of the participants, and will no doubt go on to have successful careers in Physical Education or Exercise & Sport Science.
Thanks also to Jude McGuire & Leesa Langley from School Sport Victoria for their ongoing support for the All Abilities Bowls program in Victoria. Finally a big thank you to Darebin City Bowling Club for hosting the annual event and for use of the indoor green at such short notice when our wet weather plan was put in place!
We’re already looking forward to next year – can someone beat Yarraville in 2017?
