Primary & High School Sports

In Term Three the Physical Education Department at AIC has had some exciting events and experienced a range of different sports. We have after school sports, competitive opportunities, elite programs, leadership opportunities, continuing programs and sports day planning.

Term Three at a glance:

1. Successfully secured $3000 in Sporting Schools Grants
2. Run Tennis for years R-2 and Volleyball for years 7&8 through the sporting schools’ program
3. Run our second Football in Schools after school soccer program for years R-6
4. Boys from years 6-12 participated in elite sports selection trials
5. Selected Boys and Girls from years 9-12 attended sports leadership programs
6. Years 6&7 participated in the Boys and Girls Bachar Houli Cups
7. Continued preparations for Term Three Sports Day

This term, the Junior Primary received tennis coaching sessions provided free of charge as part of the Sporting Schools Grant. We love watching students have new experiences and play new sports as part of this program.

In High School the year 7 and 8 students received volleyball coaching with their Sporting Schools funding. In high school only years 7 and 8 are eligible so they are lucky enough to benefit each term from having specialist coaches. It is always exciting to see the experiences we are able to offer benefitting the students and engaging them in sports they may not otherwise have tried.

This year for the second time, we ran an after-school soccer program called Football in Schools. This is open to any student in R-6 and was very popular. Students were able to partake in an eight-week program designed to give them a taste of the sport. We love offering soccer programs for our students where there is already a high level of interest. We are looking forward to seeing some of our regular participants take their skills further at local clubs.

‘The Bachar Houli Academy (BHF) is a high-performance football talent program for emerging junior players. The program focuses on leadership, brotherhood identity and providing a unique football development opportunity’ (BHF website). The BHF ran their first South Australian Academies this year and AIC students were invited to participate.

Boys

The junior and senior boys attended an elite selection where they participated in a series of tests using specialist equipment similar to the AFL Draft Combine. These tests included a standing vertical jump, a 20m sprint, and an agility test. Once results were finalised, boys with strong results were invited to join the academy and be part of a three-day leadership program. We congratulate all boys who took part, and we know they all gained a considerable amount from the three days.

Girls

The girls’ program was selected very differently. They had to write a submission answering questions to support their entry. The answers they gave determined their acceptance into the academy. Three of our senior girls attended the three-day program and couldn’t speak highly enough of their experience. The female program is similar to the boys, in that it focusses on leadership and identity but also on health, fitness and the unique sisterhood shared amongst young Muslim girls. They came out with a stronger sense of self and impactful memories that will last for a long time.

In its second year, the cup has grown to include 4 Islamic Schools across 2 zones, 4-year levels and a separate competition for male and female participants. The program has kick started a tremendous growth in multicultural footy with the Bachar Houli Foundation now also running local academies for our middle and senior students and several students seeking out local clubs to continue their passion.

This year we took year 6 and 7 students, some who had competed previously but many who were participating in their first AFL competition. Three teams went to each of the girls and boys cups, competing in two separate divisions, year 5/6 and year 7/8.

Many of our students look forward to this competition every year as the highlight of our competitive calendar. We love the connection we share with the other colleges and the growing sense of community this is building. It is such a fun friendly atmosphere, and we are grateful to be a part of it.

Congratulations also to Nour Zreika, who last term designed the football used in the cup and gifted to schools at the conclusion of the event. It was wonderful to see her design being used throughout the day.

The following achievements have come as a result of this carnival:

Girls Competition

• Runner Up Best on Ground Year 5/6: Fatimatou Bah
• Back-to-Back Best on Ground Year 7/8: Massan Jardu
• Grand Finalists and Second Overall Year 7/8 Comp: Year 7 Girls Team
• Grand Finalists and Back-to-Back Cup Champions Year 5/6 Comp: Year 6 Girls

Boys Competition

• Runner Up Best on Ground Year 7/8: Yaseen Kasumovic
• Best on Ground Year 7/8: Emmanuel Workolo
• Grand Finalists and Cup Champions Year 7/8 Comp: Year 7 Boys Team

Our sincere thanks to the SANFL and the Bachar Houli Foundation for their support of this event. Thank you especially to Tom Javor, Amer El Hosni, Layan Saadeh, Micheal Triantafilakis (Pinnacle College), Chris Caruana (Playford College) and Zahia Bahwach (Garden College).

At the end of Term 2 our senior students took part in the Port Power Intercultural Cup. The Power Intercultural Program is designed to celebrate cultural diversity, promote inclusion, and build social cohesion by recognising the positive contribution of different cultures within Australia.

This is the sixth year the program has run, each year concluding with a 9 a side AFL Carnival. The boys and girls teams performed strongly at the Carnival, the girls finishing third overall and the boys made it to the grand final. This was played at Adelaide Oval where our boys demonstrated exceptional teamwork and dominated the final game against respected competitors in Mount Carmel. At the end they came out comprehensive winners and champions by 66 points.

Mrs Katy Javor and Mr Paiwast Ahmed

AIC Sports Coordinators