On
Thursday 30 April St Mary's School, Cambridge hosted its annual
Sports Award Dinner welcoming 190 students, staff and parents to celebrate
individual and team sporting achievements. This year’s event saw Olympic
silver medal winner, Gillian Lindsay, address the audience as guest speaker.
Gillian
was part of the first Team GB women’s team to win a rowing medal at the Olympic
Games; taking silver in the Women’s Quadruple Sculls in Sydney in 2000.
She has competed in three Olympic Games. On retiring from competition,
Gillian held the accolade as Britain’s most successful woman sculler of all
time.
Rowing is
a very popular option at St Mary’s School, Cambridge, currently exclusively
available for Sixth Form students, so the girls were thrilled to hear from the
inspirational athlete. Gillian said: “It is always a pleasure to take a
new audience through my sporting career. Quite simply I started off as the
'little sister who was always slower', I was then introduced to rowing and
never looked back. My journey was decorated with setbacks and
frustrations until I connected with my coach Mike Spracklen. He got the
best out of me every day, which eventually led me to my ultimate dream.
Role models were my motivation, but in the end hard work and determination got
me there.”
(from left to right) Gillian Lindsay and
Charlotte Avery, Headmistress at St Mary's School, Cambridge
The
evening was the school’s opportunity to formally recognise all of its athletes
for their achievements in sports ranging from gymnastics to netball to cross
country to rowing. The awards presented on the night included:
- Most
Improved Players
- Most
Valuable Players
- Most
Supportive Team Player
- Most
Dedicated Goal Keeper of the Year
- Sport
Scholar Awards
- Sports
Team Captain of the Year
- Sports
Team of the Year
- Games
Captain Award
In
acknowledgement of students who have gone one step further and been selected to
represent their country in their chosen sport, the school launched a new award
to recognise their talent, hard work and dedication: the International
Sportswomen Award.
- Esme
S., Year 11, has qualified to represent GB in the U20 Duathalon World
Championships which is being held in Adelaide, Australia in October.
- Jemima
C., Sixth Form, is the youngest person to date to be accepted onto the GB
Rowing Start Programme, which aims to identify and develop potential
Olympians.
- Amber
L., Sixth Form, has represented China as an International Artistic Roller
Skater.
- Phoebe
C., Sixth Form, has gained a place in the U18 England hockey squad.
Charlotte
Avery, Headmistress at St Mary’s School, Cambridge, added: “We have an ethos of
sport for all; ensuring every girl has the opportunity to take part in physical
activity, join clubs and participate in competitive sport, while nurturing
others on route to excellence. We are extremely proud of all of our girls
who take part in competitive and non-competitive sport; whether that is
individually or in a team, and the Sports Award Dinner was the perfect platform
to recognise these efforts.
“We have
many positive role models for our girls, both on the staff and within the
student body, including our own Head of PE, Jackie Ewing, who has been
Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire County Golf Champion four times! We were
delighted to welcome Gillian Lindsay to this year’s Sports Award Dinner; she is
an impressive all round athlete and role model for our aspiring rowers.”