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Year 9 discover a whole new ball game

As part of their latest unit, Technology, Participation and Performance, Ms McFetridge’s Year 9 PASS students were excited to discover all sorts of old family sporting equipment and clothing.

Ever since the first barefoot Olympic runners began wearing sandals in the 3rd century BC, sportspeople have been trying to gain an edge on their competitors. The evolution of sports equipment, coupled with the advent of technology, has helped us to run faster, jump higher and throw further. But as we know from watching the Olympics, there’s always room for improvement when it comes to producing a gold-medal performance.

This term, our Year 9 PASS students have been looking at how technology has contributed to participation and performance, and how it has impacted on physical activity and sport.

PDHPE Teacher Ms McFetridge said, “Our Year 9 students have been looking at the widespread application of technology in sport and how this has contributed to increased participation. They’ve also been thinking about the media and how it has used technology to increase spectator appeal, as well as the positive and negative implications of technology. Moving forward, students will be investigating the ethical implications that technology can have on access and equity for participants and performers.”

As part of this unit, Ms McFetridge asked her students to source an old piece of sporting equipment or clothing and share it with the rest of the class. It was an opportunity for them to see how sports equipment and clothing has changed over time.

Ms McFetridge said, “Given that we are all working from home, the girls were able to source an incredible array of items – probably because they didn’t have to transport them to School! There were tennis rackets from the 1960’s, cricket bats, and Lottie even had her mum’s ����AV Netball uniform from the Barbara Jackson era! Amelie had a pair of skis from the 1800’s, and Olivia’s grandfather was a former Wallaby, so she was able to show his Wallaby jersey and share insights into the use of fabric then and now. It was a fantastic way to enhance the girls’ learning and understanding of the content.”

Olivia said, “This PASS lesson was an opportunity for us to see the dramatic change in sporting technology and equipment over time. We did this by showing clothing and equipment over Zoom. Everyone found different things at home to showcase how much sporting equipment has changed. I was able to show two Wallaby jerseys from different eras. My grandfather played for the Wallabies in the 1960’s, making him one of the oldest living players. His jersey was made of a thick cotton fabric that felt heavy compared to the newer styles of jersey. It also had a collar, which felt stiff and not very flexible. As my grandfather is one of the oldest Wallabies, he was asked to hand out jerseys to the 2006 team. He was able to get one of these jerseys signed by all the team. It is made from a very thin, breathable and sweat-proof material, which is a cotton and synthetic blend. This type of blend is now being widely used in sporting attire and has made a huge impact on sporting performance.”

Great work PDHPE Department!