A Short History
In the year 2000, the St George Secondary Schools Sports’ Association was formed when three smaller zones merged. Representatives of the three Zones met because of the pending formation of the Georges River Senior Campus, and the imminent closure of Narwee BHS, which meant that the Cook Zone would have had only 4 schools, Wolli Zone 4 plus Hurstville, and Woniora Zone 4 effective playing schools. There were also Wiley Park Girls and St George Girls who did not compete in grade sport and Strathfield South which had limited involvement. The small amount of schools in each zone meant that teams would play each other 4 or 5 times in the same season. The new Zone formed to give more students an opportunity to play grade sport at a more competitive standard, as, especially the girls from the different zones had little or no competition. It was agreed at a meeting of 3 delegates from each Zone, and chaired by the Peakhurst Principal Mia Kumar at Peakhurst High School, that a new Zone would be formed. The St George Zone then became the largest school sporting zone in NSW. The decision was endorsed by a Principal’s Meeting, and DET approvals were sought and gained.
The steering Committee consisted of Tony Yelavich, Graeme Errington, Trevor Trotman and Jane Cooper. Graeme Errington was the inaugural President, and continued as President until the end of 2016.
Meetings were held quite regularly between the existing 3 zones to come up with a viable competition.
The Zone adopted the St George Leagues Club insignia, the colours red and white and the motto “Certamen et equitas” which was sourced from St George High School’s Latin Department and loosely means “Competition and fair play”. Tony Yelavich devised a draft Constitution, and Trevor Trotman developed By Laws and collated all the information together. The rules of the games were an amalgam of all Zone ideas. In the early days, each school was issued with 3 bound booklets of the Constitution and playing rules, 1 to be given to the Principals, 1 to the Sports organiser, and one for the staff common room. All conveners were given a copy.
Since the inception of the St George Zone, it has thrived through the dedication of numerous sport coordinators, teachers and the support of school senior executive staff. Carnivals involving up to 18 schools and thousands of students have been run with expertise and professionalism. The Zone has given many talented student athletes the opportunity to hone their skills, achieve excellence, and progress to Sydney East, CHS and All Schools representation.
The high quality weekly grade sport competitions have provided opportunities for students of all ability levels to be physically active, engage in a team environment and represent their schools.
A selection of the outstanding athletes that have excelled in representation of the St George Zone have been recognised with St George Blues, which is the highest honour of the Zone. Teachers that have made a significant and long-standing contribution to the Zone have been awarded with a Life Membership.
Compiled by Simon Wilson with assistance from Trevor Trotman (Sydney Technical), Tony Yelavich (Blakehurst H.S.), and Vicki McIntosh (Wiley Park Girls’).
Life Members (Wolli, Cook and Woniora Zones)
Col Murray (dec)
Wal Scott (dec)
Warren Ryan
Further information to be added. Please contact Benjamin.Kemp5@det.nsw.edu.au if you have more information about the life members of the previous zones that joined to form the St George SSSA.
Life Members (St George Zone):
Shane Millard (30/7/1957 – 18/6/2016)
Shane made an outstanding contribution to the St George Zone since its inception. He was an inspiration
to many young teachers and students alike in his passion for school sport. He performed the duty of Zone
Treasurer with meticulous planning and attention to detail, and made too many contributions to mention
them all here. He coordinated Athletics carnivals, professional learning for coaches and had a particularly
passion for driving the development of Rugby League in the zone.
He worked at James Cook 1979, Canterbury Boys 1980 – 1994, Kingsgrove HS 1995 – 2015.
He is often remembered and sorely missed.
Trevor Trotman
Trevor Trotman made a huge contribution to the St George Zone, and has continued to contribute to the Zone through Basketball convening since retiring from official roles within the Zone. He held the role of Secretary and Competition Secretary across his time in various zones and in the St George Zone since its inceptions. This has included:
Wolli Zone 1976 – 80, 1981 – 1986 (Secretary)
Eastern Suburbs Zone (1987, 1988-90 as Secretary)
Wolli Zone 1995 – 2000 (Secretary)
St George Zone (2001 – present) Secretary (2001 – 2004) Competition Secretary (2005-2015)
Trevor possesses an incredible knowledge of Zone sport across all aspects, and has spent considerable time contributing to the further improvement of procedures and integrity of zone competitions. He oversaw the results and creation of draws which allowed for weekly competitions to take place in a meaningful way. His involvement also extended into the carnival events where his meticulous planning and foresight led to smoothly ran carnivals. He was also vital in instilling the values of hard work, resilience, and excellence in Sydney Technical teams which has contributed to their ongoing outstanding success in the Zone.
Graham Errington
Graham was the inaugural President of the St George Zone, and continued in that capacity until 2016. As a founding member of the zone, Graham’s outstanding leadership contributed to the smooth running of all areas of the largest school sport zone in NSW. Graham’s calm demeanour ensured that no task was too difficult. He successfully managed various sports in the role of a zone sport convener. His contributions, leadership and direction supplied to the zone have ensured its continued success. He successfully managed the transition period when a large amount of expertise and knowledge of highly experienced Sport Coordinators were lost through retirements, so that the St George Zone has continued to have a strong influence in the lives of young people across the schools of the St George Zone.
Jane Cooper
Jane made an outstanding contribution to the St George Zone. As a founding member, her expertise and foresight contributed to the formation of the Zone. She was a meticulous planner and a great committee member for the zone. Her high level of expertise and organisational skill led to the running of carnivals over an extended period of time. Her work was often unseen, but never unappreciated. She made a significant contribution to the Zone and the continued success of St George Girls High School.
Tony Yelavich
Tony was involved in the St George Zone since its inception until 2010, though he continued to be informally involved in the zone until 2016. He was part of the crucial steering committee and developed the first zone constitution. He has been involved across a wide variety of aspects of Zone life, particularly in the successful running of Zone Cross Country Carnivals. His outstanding efforts also saw Blakehurst High School experience a high level of success, particularly in Girls’ sports at carnival and grade sport levels.
Life Membership Policy
Rationale: This Association acknowledges the ongoing commitment by teachers in organising and supporting sport in our local Public Schools by awarding them our Life Membership Award.
