South West schools compete in ‘make-up’ Country Week carnival after cancellation

Schools from the South West across all sporting talents came together for some heated competition in the make-up games for this year’s Country Week carnival. The event was cancelled earlier this year following a COVID-19 outbreak and restrictions being introduced in the Perth and Peel regions. It is the second year the sporting carnival had been cancelled, leading to thousands of students and teachers being forced to change their plans at short notice. South West Nationals MLC James Hayward called for events to be re-scheduled so students would not miss out on their opportunity to participate in the event. The carnival is usually held towards the end of the second school term in late June and early July and lasts for one week. South West schools came together on September 3, bringing their A-game to compete in a set of rescheduled games. Country week teams are made of predominantly Year 11 and Year 12 students but, some Year 10 students can participate where places are available in the team. The carnival featured a range of sports including hockey, soccer, netball and basketball. Bunbury Catholic College teacher and soccer coach, Dave Phillips, said he was glad the games got rescheduled so his team could celebrate their great season. “It’s very disappointing we didn't get to go to country week, we were confident of success in our A-grade,” he said. “We have had a fantastic year and the boys have played tremendously well, great to see awesome teamwork between the teams. “A lot of young players came through this year, so I can see future Country week carnivals will have very strong teams.” Country week is recognised as being the biggest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere. It involves about 40 schools, about 3000 students and more than 200 teachers and support staff.