Burnie Primary School were represented by five teams (1/2 Girls, 3/4 Boys, 3/4 Girls, 5/6 Girls and 5/6 Boys) in the recent Devonport Basketball Tournament. All teams participated in the challenging Division one.

The Grade 1/2 Girls team consisted of Charlotte, Ivy, Micah, Elkee, Remi, Miriam, Murphie, Sana, Amarli, Chelsea, Ella and Eden with coaches Elena Bain and Sallyann Marshall. For many of these girls it was their first basketball tournament and first time representing their school. On Saturday the girls played Ulverstone in their first game and came away with a win. In their second game they again played very well but went down narrowly to St Pats. Sunday saw the girls in a Quarter Final at 8.30am however they didn’t mind the early cold start and won their way into the Semi Final which they also managed to win. This saw the girls playing against St Pats again. This game highlighted how much improvement they had made over the weekend and this time they defeated St Pats to be Division One 1/2 Girls champions!!!!

The Grade 3/4 Girls team consisted of Sari, Layla, Harper, Lucy, Zara, Storm, Milla, Halle and Tayla with coach Mark Short.  The girls played four games over the weekend which included a thrilling come from behind win which showed the girls' determination and perseverance. The weekend was a great learning opportunity for these girls seven of whom are in Grade three which means they will continue to improve.

The Grade 3/4 Boys team consisted of Elijah, Hudson, Cooper, Ryan, Bentley, Lucas, Archie, Sashan and Louis with coach Stephen Gillam. The boys played two games on Saturday and managed to come away with two wins after some impressive basketball.  This meant that they were through to a Semi Final on Sunday. In a high standard and very exciting game they fell just short however should be very proud of their efforts on the court.

The Grade 5/6 Girls team consisted of Olivia, Parisa, Maddie, Sienna, Chas, Brianna, Addison and Inndii with coach Olivia Meldrum. The girls had an excellent tournament.  They won two of their three pool games on the Saturday which meant that they were in a Quarter Final on Saturday night. The girls played their first game at 8.50am and the Quarter Final was at 7.40pm.  Wow, four games over that time - it was always going to be tough! Unfortunately the girls were two players down. They played well and never gave up but eventually went down. They showed their resilience however when they won their game on Sunday.

The Grade 5/6 Boys team consisted of Oliver, Nash, Tobias, Brooklyn, Johnty, Lucas, Hayden, Oliver and Ryan with coach Tim Kinch. The boys won their two roster games on the Saturday and their final roster game on the Sunday which meant that they were in the Semi Final. They played very well to win this game and now were in the Grand Final against Stella Maris. The game was very close at half time but they were able to hit two three pointers to start the third quarter and never looked back securing a strong victory!!

For these tournaments to occur, we required the assistance of parents/carers.

Thank you to Stuart Bain, Camilla Stretton and James Dick for umpiring and all the managers and parents who took a turn in the score bench.

I would like to thank the coaches Mark Short, Tim Kinch, Stephen Gillam, Elena Bain, Sallyann Marshall and Olivia Meldrum for giving up considerable time to initially train the teams and then the time on the weekends coaching. Whilst everyone enjoys winning, it is the skills that are developed over these weekends that are the most important. Thank you for helping develop skills such as communication, collaboration, perseverance, reflection and commitment within our students.

with thanks

Stephen Dome