We have enjoyed another fantastic term of PE and Sport at Wellington College, with many highlights and memorable moments.

The senior students were given the freedom to create their own Gymnastics routines and whether it was Zac flying through the air or Otto producing a dive forward through Alex’s legs, there has been plenty of enjoyment along the way. The final Gymnastics displays were very impressive indeed; credit should go to the students for the creativity and courage to take risks in their learning.

We have also had our first experience of FOBISIA competition when we flew to Shrewsbury College, Thailand, where we conducted ourselves very well and came away with a number of individual medals, including an impressive 5 golds from Tomasso Colombo.

Last weekend saw our U15 boys win the SSSA tournament, playing “The beautiful game” as it should be played and maintaining the level of sportsmanship that is important to all Wellingtonians.

Just this week, we won our first basketball game in the Big 12 league 30-19 against Jin Cai. A great effort and a thoroughly deserved victory.

In the coming weeks, we have U11 Rugby, U13 Basketball, U13 and U15 Girls Football tournaments and our first Athletics meet, amongst the other weekly fixture commitments to the Big 12 league and friendlies.

Next term we move onto Athletics, Rugby, Netball and Cricket. The U13 and U15 Rugby and Netball leagues between Dulwich and the BISS schools start and there are also Athletics meets scheduled.

The ASA programme for next term is now available and there are plenty of sports on offer, with opportunity to learn how to fence or try a new challenge with Synchronised Swimming or the more traditional sports currently on offer.

We will also be hosting our first Annual Sports Award Evening in June, where we can look back at a fantastic year of sport at Wellington, celebrating the achievements and experiences of the students.

With something happening every day at the College, there is so much to get involved with. Wellingtonians of all ages show great enthusiasm with their sports, and we look forward to what the rest of this year has in store.

A storming success at home for the U11 Netball team
Last Saturday, Wellington welcomed local international schools for the penultimate friendly U11 Netball league of the season.  Amongst those schools attending, Dulwich Suzhou brought three teams, BISS Pudong brought two and BISS Puxi and Dulwich College Shanghai all attended the exciting day.

Our first game saw Wellington against Dulwich Suzhou and our girls hit the ground running!  Impeccable shooting from captain Kimberly Littler ensured that every attacking opportunity which we were given was converted effortlessly into a goal.  Wellington finished with a 10-0 win.

Our second match was against Dulwich Suzhou’s B team.  Newcomers Megan Griffiths (Year 5) and Seren Thomas (Year 4, two years below her age group) stole the show with smooth passing that ensured efficient progression down the court where Julia Johansen and Kimberly were eagerly waiting to showcase some more very effective shooting.  The game finished 6-1 for the College.

Our final game was against BISS Pudong.  The girls embraced their last match with vigour and outstanding Wellingtonian attitudes.  Chantelle Freeman-Phillips ensured all over-head passes were gracefully intercepted as a very effective centre and again shooting was on point.  Scarlett Chan and Bethany Lamb in defence did an impeccable job in keeping the score at an impressive 11-0 triumph for Wellington.

Our very first Netball team not only represented Wellington incredibly well on the scoreboard, but also played respectfully and with style on the court.

Going the distance with Cross-country
The Wellington Cross-country running team entered the first race of the 2015 series on Sunday 8th March at Binjiang Forest Park.

The U16 5km boys’ race was won, by a convincing margin, by Nathan Stassin. An impressive victory in style, especially as this was only his second run in two months returning from injury. He was followed in second position by Alex Burton.

The U16 5km girls’ race saw another impressive victory by a Wellingtonian, Langa Nindi, running in her first race for the school, running a confident and powerful race. She was ably supported by Leigh-Ann Franetzki who finished in a very solid third place.

Our runner of the day, however, went to Shingai Nindi who, because he turned 16 last week, had to run in the 10km adult race, our first Wellingtonian to do so. Although a little daunted by the prospect he managed to acquit himself very well, being 6th at halfway keeping with and pushing the leaders. About 1km from the finish Shingai found himself in 2nd place only to be pipped into 5th by some much older, stronger and more experienced runners by the finish. A spirited run by a very talented, promising and exciting athlete.

All the runners were in good spirits, despite the rain, and conducted themselves well on the course and off, supporting each other across the line.

SSSA U15 Football Champions
The under 15, captained by Alex Burton played with maturity, style, and determination last Saturday, and showed great humility in winning.

To put this tournament win into perspective, many of the players will be able to play for the next three years at this age group. Their age, however, was no reflection on their pitch etiquette, which shone through over the course of the match.

Carlton Palmer, who lead the boys to their victory said “I don’t want my teams just to win, I want us to play a certain style which shows an understanding of the game and that we certainly did that.”

Mr Palmer added, “Understanding the word Team - Together Everyone Achieves More.”

Cup and Plate Swim Meet
Last weekend, the Wellington College Swim Squad attended the annual Cup & Plate swim meets at the Shanghai American School in Puxi.

Run as two separate events, the Saturday event required a qualifying time to attend but the swim team was still able to send 12 swimmers to compete.  After a long day of competitions, Wellington left with two gold, a silver, and four bronze.

Day two saw the reminder of the team heading to Puxi to compete.  After taking to the water at 7:50 for a short warm up, the team settled in to a long wait for their respective races.  Competitors took the opportunity to discuss tactics and to visualize their races before being marshaled to the starting blocks.  After the final race the Wellingtonians again had another impressive haul of medals to travel back to Pudong with. 

With adrenaline coursing and in the excitement of the event, most of our swimmers managed to post new personal bests on the day and in some cases, an 11 second improvement.

The Wellington College Swim Squad continues to improve week on week in training and their ever-impressive haul of medals is testament to their hard work, dedication and passion to win. 

Next stop Phuket! 

Cricket takes to the field

The Shanghai Cricket Club starts its league season this weekend at Wellington College International Shanghai.

The club will be basing itself here throughout the year now, and we welcome them back from a very successful season last year.

Cricket as a sport will be offered as an ASA next term in the Senior School, but there will be more opportunities to get involved with coaching and matches in a joint venture between Wellington and Shanghai Cricket Club. Keep listening out for the crack of leather on willow from one of the most British of British sports, as Wellington College International Shanghai really becomes a real hub for cricket in this part of Asia!