Greece was the first big sporting superpower, giving the world the Olympic Games as their legacy. They were closely followed by the Romans, masters of gladiatorial contests for several centuries. Then came Real Madrid and later Manchester United. Atalanta are the current leviathans of sport. When will their reign end? It’s now been twelve months since they lost an inter-house event. This term they picked up the cross-country, football, basketball and badminton titles.  However, it should be said that whilst a few of these contests were a showcase for Atalanta’s undisputed talents, in others we witnessed some very close battles. So keep up the fight, Diana and Minerva, and you never know. Every empire in history has eventually crumbled at some point…

In inter-school events, we’ve seen some firsts. Back in October, Olivia Perrin became our first ADISR golf champion! On a wet and windy course in Gruyères she managed to retain her concentration throughout the day and ended up as the top female player. Congratulations, Olivia! Maarten Nieuwhuis became St George’s first ever representative at an equestrian event. He placed fifth in the ADISR show-jumping championships. Well done, Maarten.  We’ve had lots of football fixtures this term too, the junior boys victory against ISL being one of the highlights. The junior and senior badminton teams both won friendly fixtures against Beausoleil. And last Sunday the swim team made their annual trip to Neuchâtel again where St George’s students won the following medals: Libby Urquhart-Ducharme - a bronze; Edward Pearce - a bronze and a silver; the girls’ freestyle relay team - bronze medals; the boys’ medley team - bronze medals; and the boys’ freestyle team - gold medals in a really exciting final event of the day. The swim team trains week in, week out, year in, year out and these medals were all thoroughly well-deserved. 

A special mention should also be made here of the junior girls who belong to the Vevey Youth Ballet. Although dance is technically a performing art, it requires the same physical demands and dedication as any sport and after months of rehearsals these girls helped put on a dazzling performance of “The Nutcracker” last weekend. Congratulations, girls.

Being part of a team gives you the opportunity to take part in competitions, to travel, and to meet new friends from both inside and outside of school. But if you want those things, then it takes commitment - commitment to training. Being part of a team is both a privilege and a responsibility that you have to earn. There are plenty of opportunities to take part in sports after school and you don’t always need a teacher in charge. We will organise extra practices and inter-school matches for the keenest students and the most motivated teams, but we won’t if the commitment to practice is thin. Day students - if you enjoy a particular activity, find out who belongs to clubs outside of school and ask if you could come along too. Boarders - take every opportunity you can to be active and use all the fabulous facilities we have here on site. You may never have it so easy again.

In a graduation speech given to a departing high school class in the States, a leading academic gave this advice to his young audience:

“Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.”

Ok, so some of you might be thinking, “but what about mobile phones?”

You’d have to admit, it’s a great message nonetheless. And there’s certainly more truth in those words than there is in the history lesson at the beginning of this report.

Have a nice holiday.