igsa Sport is a sub-committee of igsa, the Association of Heads of Independent Girls’ Schools, NSW trading as Independent Girls’ Schools Association (igsa). There are 32 independent girls’ schools within igsa and igsa Sport’s role is to provide sporting activities for the students of members’ schools.
Both individual and team sports are provided by igsa Sport with eight different Saturday sports offered throughout the year. Six carnivals are also offered annually in the areas of swimming and diving, rowing, tennis, athletics, cross country and gymnastics.
In addition to providing inter-school sporting opportunities for girls, igsa Sport also provides a pathway to representative competition at the state and national level. This commitment to school girl sport at all levels is central to the igsa Sport philosophy of encouraging each student to develop her full potential as both an individual and team player.
Although igsa Sport has grown rapidly in recent years, the formation of the sub-committee dates back to 1922, six years after the formation of igsa in 1916. Today, igsa Sport is managed by the igsa Director of Sport who, with the support of a co-ordinator & administrative sport staff, co-ordinates an extensive network of committees, conveners and umpires.
All participating schools contribute to the grading process and much time and thought are invested in allocating the appropriate grade to each team. The grading process begins with schools selecting teams and proposing grades. All schools are then invited to a grading meeting at which grades are finalised based upon player profiles, the number of representative players in each team, previous seasons’ results and the school’s justification for the grades sought.
All participating schools contribute to the grading process and much time and thought are invested in allocating the appropriate grade to each team. The grading process begins with schools selecting teams and proposing grades. All schools are then invited to a grading meeting at which grades are finalised based upon player profiles, the number of representative players in each team, previous seasons’ results and the school’s justification for the grades sought.
Participation in sporting activities is potentially dangerous so igsa Sport takes steps to reduce the risk of accident or injury by adopting a comprehensive program of risk management.
Every effort is made to identify potential hazards and these are addressed prior to the commencement of each sport or carnival. Venues are checked regularly; the safety guidelines of the overarching state sporting body are observed and behaviour at matches is governed by the igsa Sport Code of Conduct. Venue conveners are trained to handle safety issues at their venue and reports are completed and reviewed for those accidents or injuries that do occur.
igsa Sport encourages all participants to be aware of sport safety and feedback is encouraged via the igsa Sport website.
In 2006 igsa received the NSW Sporting Injuries Committee’s award for outstanding achievement in sports safety at the state level.