2018 has been one whirlwind of a year in the choc and gold, and certainly the most successful for the College in terms of trophies in the cabinet, winning all 5 major awards; the overall men’s and women’s sports, the weighted men’s and women’s sports and the Sir Zelman Cowan Cultural Cup, a feat last conquered by the College 18 years ago!
I will try to recap the year as succinctly as possible but as per any year in the history of the Student Club, it was one packed full of action so I apologise in advance if I miss anything out or get caught up with some of my greatest memories…
Looking to the sporting field, the athletes of St John’s managed to take out a total of 8 premierships, 5 in the Women’s and 3 in the Men’s, but the most outstanding result, I believe, is the unmatched consistency throughout the competition, the Men only had one fourth and placed top three for every sport and the Ladies only had 4 finishes outside of third place. This saw the women of St John’s blow the overall sport competition out of the water, taking both the overall and weighted shields. The men, although defeating King’s by 4 points overall, were bound to share the overall title with the Kingsmen, in line with competition rules that state the lowest placing three sports of a college are disregarded .
Although it was bittersweet sharing the honours, King’s most certainly were the college with something to lose, attempting to win the overall competition 10 years’ running, the Jabbas managed to muster up the talent to ruin their party, which at the end of the day leaves a grin from ear to ear on every Johnian’s face!
While there was more than enough to celebrate in the sporting results arena, I believe it necessary to send praises to all of those who helped out in terms of training, organisation and support of our teams. The Johnian whipout for another consecutive year has consistently shadowed over the crowds of each college, and without doubt pushed our sporting talents to give that little extra which, inch by inch, totalled to the Jabbas raising all four of the sporting shields. It has been an absolute pleasure over my three years to watch us come closer and closer to these titles and then finally take them out.
Veering into the cultural department, we saw another display of brilliant consistency. Some questionable judging by all accounts would suggest we had been hard done by in events such as Choralfest and Bandfest, the latter results causing such an uproar that even the colleges that beat us admitted we should have won! Either way, the Johnian’s took the tough results on the chin and continued to perform at an incredible standard at all events.
In the end it came down to Dancefest, where we had to beat Emmanuel by 2 positions. I had never before witnessed such hype around one event. Everyone was aware of the Cultural Cup standings and in the Green Room prior to the performance, a war cry erupted that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up as over half the college belted their lungs out, determined to bring home ‘our’ cup. Despite the competition being fiercer than ever the Jabbas did not disappoint as we managed to snag third place leaving Emman in the dust in fifth. We did it! The Sir Zelman Cowan Cup was returning home, the Johnians in the crowd exploded with excitement and the celebrations would continue fo(u)r days. Dancefest was the fulcrum of our cultural victory and a massive thank you is due to Monet Conroy, Candice Hodges, Katie Underwood, Charlotte Wright and the many others involved in what was quite literally the year-long process that this event requires to produce such a result. These Johnians dedicated their hearts and souls to this spectacle and I couldn’t feel more indebted! A further thank you goes to Cameron Seawright for promoting the cultural component of collegiate life to the point that the tone deaf were singing and those who couldn’t keep a beat were on their feet.
Victorious and glorious we will keep the dancing shoes on as we move into the social events of the College. Where to begin? St John’s College Student Club most certainly upheld its reputation as the College that knows how to work hard but play harder! Jazz Night, Ball and f.inal f.resherome were the big ticket items that managed to impress the rest of College Road and further afield. The amount of work by the Socials – Edward Murray, Bridget Burton and their Committee – most certainly paid off in the form of some of the biggest nights of the year. Apart from the normal marquee events previously mentioned Heaven on Earth, better known as the Buttery Bar, continued to thrive thanks to a consistent flow of social soldiers willing to fight the heavies crisis! As always the Buttery managed to maintain a palpable buzz around the college and served as a constant reminder to the students of St John’s of the lyrics to Country (College) Road and Eagle Rock. I thank the VPs Dodie Wilson and Callum Wallis for their efforts to maintain the sacred turf that is the St John’s College Club and always being on their toes to try something new in that space.
Looking at the highlights of the Community Service efforts, Chloe Painter and her community crew put in a massive shift this year. Between the Boutique Beers and the Classy Cocktails there seemed to be enough time to go door knocking for the Red Cross, Clean Up Australia, Do it in a Dress and even introduce a comprehensive recycling system to the College! It was a year where the role of community service at the College was emphasised dramatically and has set the bar high for years to come.
The Executive and I handed over the reins in October with a number of great candidates putting their hats in the ring and running for positions. My third year cohort is leaving the College in safe hands, with a fantastic, hard-working Executive and strong second and first year cohort from 2018. It truly has been an incredible year for the College and most importantly, appears that the next year will proceed in a similar fashion. It is always an exciting time to be a Johnian and I’m sure life within St John’s College will continue to be a unique experience enjoyed by all who come here.
by Tom Glasheen, Student Club President 2018
