Schools to combine for third Respect Cup

THE Respect Cup competition returns to Geelong this year in the third edition of the annual contest between Geelong and Ballarat schools to celebrate inclusivity and women’s achievements in sport.

St Joseph’s College and Sacred Heart College in Geelong have again teamed up with St Patrick’s College and Loreto College in Ballarat for the friendly footy tournament, to be played at GMHBA Stadium on International Women’s Day (March 8).

The first team of St Joseph’s play the first team of St Patrick’s in a game of male footy, which will be that will act as a curtain-raiser to the female senior match of Sacred Heart Geelong playing Loreto College Ballarat.

The highest combined scores of the Geelong or Ballarat schools will see them win the Respect Cup, which Ballarat won in 2021 and retained last year.

The event aims to emphasise sport as integral to the local community and social connections, to celebrate diversity, to strengthen and enrich the community and the bonds between the schools, to celebrate the common interest of AFL football between the genders, to promote health and well-being, and raise awareness against bias and take action for gender equality.

Leah Irving from St Joseph’s College has been involved with the Respect Cup from the start, and said the 2023 edition would be the biggest and best yet.

She said she was looking forward to an event being run under much less severe COVID-19 restrictions.

“We were the last event to take place at Kardinia Park before it all closed down [for lockdowns], and we’ve just missed out on the new stand being built and open, but it’ll be a very different vibe this time.

“Having said that, with all the restrictions, we know we still had 700 people through the gates.”

She said International Women’s Day celebrations at St Joseph’s College had previously just involved the college’s female staff, but this was thought not to be inclusive of the students or the community.

“We thought, ‘how can get the community to know what we’re doing?’ We do teach respect and consent, but how do we get the community to know, and how do we get the students to realise this is not just part of the curriculum but needs to be embedded in their everyday life?”

She said the male and female students from all four schools had given considerable input into how the Respect Cup would be set up and run on the day.

“It’s a hope-filled future when you actually get around these young people – they’re bringing ideas to you, it’s not us saying, ‘this is what we’re going to do’, they’ve actually shaped the whole day.

“And not just the footy players – it’s the student leaders, it’s the staff, everybody’s got a say.

“It’s amazing to get four schools together to do anything, really.

“Now we’ve got more time, it’s going to be bigger and better, we’re going to reach out to primary schools; we want to have a real community feel.”

On March 8, St Patrick’s College will play St Joseph’s College at 11am, and Loreto College will play Sacred Heart College at 1pm.

Entry is free, and gates at GMHBA Stadium open at 10.30am.

You can watch the games live through at pay wall on Clutch TV.