To help shape the future of sport at St Andrew’s Cathedral School, the School has established two student-led committees; a Sports Committee and a Girls Sport Sub-Committee.
The Girls Sport Sub-Committee aims to strengthen the sporting experience for girls at St Andrew’s while creating leadership opportunities on and off the field. As Australia enters a period of significant sporting growth in the lead-up to Brisbane 2032, the committee is helping the girls develop the skills and confidence to become future leaders in the industry.
Recently, the committee spent a day at the Sydney Swans HQ where the students worked alongside key Swans leadership staff to learn how successful sporting organisations create a vision, build a culture and turn ideas into action. Through this experience, the students also gained insight into the many roles women can play in the wider sporting industry.
A highlight of the visit was hearing from Kate Mahony, Executive General Manager – AFLW, who shared insights from her leadership journey in elite sport. Her reflections challenged the students to consider what role they might play in creating the School’s sporting vision and culture.
Inspired by the day, committee members identified practical ways to increase participation, strengthen leadership opportunities and encourage more girls to engage in sport at St Andrew’s.
Speaking about the student-led sport committees, David Moore, Acting Director of Sport, said, “We are committed to providing students with opportunities to identify their gifts and talents, to develop them into strengths and to lead with purpose. We look forward to seeing the students’ ideas come to life and strengthen our sporting community.’’
Speaking about the day, Elle Smith, Senior Learning Coach, said, “As a school in the heart of the city, we have the sporting world on our doorstep. Connecting with Kate gave the girls the chance to explore how we can continue to strengthen sport at St Andrew’s. If we want our girls to become future leaders in sport, there is nothing more inspiring than learning from and working with women who are already leading the way.”
St Andrew’s thanks Kate Mahony and the Sydney Swans for generously hosting the day and helping inspire the next generation of female leaders in sport.
The visit left the girls excited to begin turning their ideas into action.
