Girls Sport Victoria


Girls' Sport Victoria was established in 2001, and is one of the largest independent school sporting association in Victoria, with 24 member schools from around Melbourne.
GSV provides approximately 16,500 girls, from years seven to twelve, with the opportunity to be involved in over 20 sports through weekly competitions, carnivals, tournaments and skill development programs.

Schools

Current member schools

Former member schools

History

In 1999, the principal of Melbourne Girls Grammar School, Christine Briggs, held a meeting of principals of girls' schools at the Lyceum Club. She felt the need to organise the meeting after receiving a letter of invitation from the Associated Public Schools of Victoria inviting her school to join their association.
Many APS boys' schools had introduced co-education and were finding it difficult to provide adequate inter-school sports experiences for their female students. As the oldest schools association, APS felt it was in a strong position to convince independent girls' schools to become members. Briggs was concerned that the APS saw girls' schools as the solution to their problem, and was aware that girls' schools were fragmented into so many sporting associations, that the approach might be successful for the APS, but harming girls' schools.
Briggs put the issue of girls' sport to the principals at the meeting, and it was agreed that it was time to consider the idea of a new sports organisation catering for the needs of all-female schools. It was stressed by many that the heritage of girls' sport built over more than a century by the involved schools could not be abandoned or seriously affected.
Following this meeting, a forum was led by Diana Bowman, the former principal of SCEGGS Darlinghurst in New South Wales, who had much experience with the successful and foremost girls' sporting association in her State, the Independent Girls' Schools Sporting Association. It was at this forum that the decision was made to create a new sports organisation to which the 24 girls' schools could belong, and that existing Associations would then cease to exist. In the same year, the name "Girls Sport Victoria" was selected for the new organisation. Further, it was acknowledged that creating "Girls Sport Victoria" would take time, and therefore a Project Officer was needed to undertake the task. Fiona Preston was the person selected, and began work immediately in order to complete preparations for the commencement of the sports program in 2001. She was supported by a Committee of Principals, a Committee of Heads of Sport, and working committees for each sport.
Preston, along with the first executive officer, Meredith Prime, and a small group of staff, created a program of sports and three major carnivals, track and field, Swimming and Diving, and Cross Country in three Divisions. Zoned groups of schools were established for weekly interschool competitions in Netball, Basketball, Softball, Tennis, Indoor Cricket, Hockey, Waterpolo, Soccer, Volleyball and Badminton. In addition, Saturday morning sport, which was especially attractive to boarding schools, offered Golf, Australian Rules Football, Taekwondo and Triathlon. Also organised were seasonal competitions in Cricket and Surf League, and 'fun days' for students in Years 7 and 8.
Many challenges were met by the organisers, such as the vast geographic spread of the schools; the varying size of schools, ranging from 300 to almost 2000 students; the differences in quality and number of sports facilities within and outside schools; the difference in strength between schools and within sports; the cost to schools to meet their responsibilities; concern about potential loss of academic time through travel to venues; the determination of GSV rules and regulations; talent identification; promotion of leadership opportunities; and the availability of quality umpiring.

Previous associations

Prior to the establishment of Girls' Sport Victoria, there were seven girls' schools sporting associations catering to the sporting needs of the 24 GSV schools, and a small number of other schools. These associations were subsequently disbanded in 2001.

Associated Anglican Girls’ Grammar Schools (1920 - 2000)

Church Secondary Schools Sports Association, later the Associated Anglican Girls’ Grammar Schools, was created in 1920 and conducted the first combined girls’ schools sports day in Victoria on 30 April 1930, at Toorak Park, Armadale.
SchoolYears
Competed
Camberwell Girls Grammar School- 2000
Firbank Girls' Grammar School1920–2000
Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School1926–2000
Korowa Anglican Girls' School1920–2000
Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School1926–2000
Melbourne Girls Grammar1920–2000
Mentone Girls' Grammar School- 2000
Shelford Girls' Grammar- 2000
St Michael's Grammar School1920 - ?
Tintern Girls Grammar School1920 - ?

Girls' Schools Sports Association (1920 - 2000)

The Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association, later the GSSA was formed in 1920. For many years the Association had been the "Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association", but "Secondary" was dropped from the name in the 1990s.
SchoolYears
Competed
Fintona Girls' School1920–2000
Korowa Anglican Girls' School? - 2000
Lauriston Girls' School1920–2000
Ruyton Girls' School1920–2000
St Catherine's School1920–2000
Tintern Girls Grammar School? - 2000

Zone Sports Association (1968 - 2000)

Girls’ Schools Sports Association (1993 - 2000)

The "Girls’ Schools Sports Association" was formed by girls' schools then in the Eastern Suburbs Association. The ESA had earlier permitted girls from the co-educational Carey Baptist Grammar School to enter its competitions. In 1993, ESA member schools were Camberwell Anglican Girls' Grammar School, Carey Baptist Grammar School, Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School, Melbourne Girls Grammar School, Methodist Ladies' College, Presbyterian Ladies' College and Strathcona Baptist Girls' Grammar School, with Genazzano FCJ College as a non-voting member. When the ESA was dissolved and the new GSSA was constituted at the end of the same year, the name of the new Association identified its members as "Girls' Schools".
SchoolYears
Competed
Camberwell Girls Grammar School1993–2000
Genazzano FCJ College1993–2000
Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School1993–2000
Melbourne Girls Grammar1993–2000
Methodist Ladies' College1993–2000
Presbyterian Ladies' College1994–2000
Strathcona Baptist Girls' Grammar School1993–2000

Girls’ Private Schools Victorian Sports Association (1991 - 2000)

[Secondary Catholic Sports Association] (established 1980)

Southern District Sports Association (? - 2000)

NB: For a brief period, two Associations existed with the name "Girls' Schools Sports Association".

Presidents of the Association

Sports

Students from Girls Sport Victoria member schools participate in a wide range of sporting activities including:
;Weekly Sports
;Carnivals
;Sport Skills Program
;Other Events
;Representative Sport
;Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta