This year’s athletics championships at The Armidale School, held on 13 May having been postponed from Term 1, was both a nod to the past and the future.
A significantly greater number of girls in the school than in 2016 resulted in 16 girls either setting new, or breaking existing, 35 records in various girls events from 12-18 years. One boys’ record was also broken, with Nicholas Ward’s throw of 44.99m in the 16 years boys discus bettering the previous record 44.27 achieved by Brent McKenzie in 2010.
From the new competition for ‘best mascot’ (spoils shared by Tyrrell’s cowboy and dairy cows and Croft’s Chinese dragon) to the huge participation levels from athletes and strugglers alike, it was a celebration of house and school spirit.
The carnival was made all the more special by the presence of two special guests who travelled from Adelaide and Wollongong respectively to present the trophy for the senior boy champion. The ‘Robert Horner Fletcher Challenge Cup’ was first presented in 1917 by Robert’s father and in this 100th anniversary year it was presented by his grandson Stephen Hill and great-grandson Mark Fletcher. At TAS in 1913-14, Robert Fletcher matriculated as School Captain (Dux) having been an outstanding rugby and cricket player and athlete. At the time of the first presentation of the trophy, Robert Fletcher, serving with the 33rd battalion on the Western Front, wrote “TAS has the warmest of corners in my heart and I look forward greatly to the first June reunion when war is a thing of the past”. Following the carnival the 2017 recipient of the trophy Thomas Goodfellow took the visitors on a tour of the school.
Please click on the photos below to go to a gallery of around 1000 images from the carnival.
