Sport
Congratulations to the Duval Mixed Waterpolo team for beating Albies 3-1 in the A-Grade '08 Grand Final!!!
Well done to the 2008 PT men's sports team, Duval came second overall to Drummond and Smith College!!
Armidale is traditionally a sporty town. Perhaps this is due to the large proportion of youth in the Education centered town. UNE’s sporting tradition is also very strong. Sport UNE’s facilities are of an excellent standard. They have the courts, fields, a pool and rooms for a huge range of sports. They run competitions, some mixed, in soccer, touch, rugby, netball, hockey, waterpolo, basketball and more.
The intercollegiate sporting competitions have been running for decades. The men’s competition aims to win the President’s trophy whilst the women compete for the Mary Bagnall trophy. Points are given for participation, support and success in all PT and MB sports and it is a great honour for a College to win. In 2007 Duval took home the PT trophy. MB and PT are great competitions. It is so much fun to get involved and try new sports. Skill is not required, all you need is college spirit and pride! It’s also just as much fun to take some streamers and some signs and go and support fellow Duvalians in their attempts to bring home the coveted trophy.
The competitions include the following sports:
- The Swimming Carnival
- Cross Country
- Rugby 10’s
- Athletics
- 10,000m, 5,000m, 3,000m, 4x400m, 4x100m
- Hockey
- Tennis
- Canoe Polo
- Wall Climbing
- Basketball
- Soccer
- Water Polo
- AFL/NERF
- Volleyball
- Badminton
- Touch Football
- The Run Swim
Duval College has many girls who love their netball so much that they not only play in the MB netball competition and the UNE netball competition, they also play in the mixed competition as well as the town competition. Many also volunteer to umpire other teams in the town competition. This is one of the ways that Duval students integrate into the Armidale community. It allows them to make useful connections and friendships and to help out their local society.
Rugby - The Armidale Blues
Duval College has a strong affiliation with a local Armidale Rugby Union club; The Armidale Blues. Around 30 boys from Duval spent the 2008 season training twice weekly and playing with the Blues under the guidance of experienced players and coaches. The Blues had teams in the Grand Final against St Alberts College in both first and second grade. After narrowly missing out on winning last year’s grand final, the Blues won the 2008 first grade grand final. Peter Russell (Duval JCR Vice President 2007) scored the Blues' first try of the match. It was a thrilling, nail biting game with the difference in points being just one try for the final twenty minutes of play. The Blues held on 'til the end for a wonderful and well deserved victory. The game was followed by a weekend of celebration for a very successful season.
The Armidale Blues Rugby Club is a strong club with a great amount of support from local personalities and businesses. The club’s sponsor pub is the Imperial Hotel which is also Duval College’s sponsor pub. This works really well as both can work together with fundraising and functions. The Duval boys find that being part of the local team has allowed them to create useful business contacts in town and to get a great friendship base with the guys from town.
“Playing rugby for the Armidale Blues during my time at Duval College has been a truly unique experience. The club caters for both experienced and social players and provides a great link between the college and community. Unlike the other Armidale cubs, the Armidale Blues Rugby Club has provided me with the opportunity to mix with the community. Furthermore, the club is extremely considerate to the academic, social and holiday demands that come with being a university student. Not only have I made mates for life and improved my game with some fantastic coaching, playing for the Blues has opened many doors for me within Armidale. It is great to be recognised down the street and to have made great mates outside of college.” Pete Russell, JCR VP 2007
The College Gym allows our students to keep themselves in great shape for all of the College sports that they will participate in throughout the year.
The Duval College Sports Council coordinates the college participation in inter-college and town based sporting competitions. Just about every sport you can think of is played somewhere at UNE! The Council also arranges College merchandise, including Duval jerseys, shorts and socks, and puts on the annual Sports Awards dinner that celebrates all of Duval’s sporting achievements, including best supporter!
Every year the DDS Kayaking Club sends a group of paddlers and land crew to participate in the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic fundraising paddle. It is an amazing, memorable and challenging experience that Duval College and Drummond and Smith College are proud to be a part of.