Sport

St Mary's provides students with a wide variety of sporting opportunities through involvement in Sporting tours, Interschool competitions, College sporting carnivals, weekly sports lessons and providing district & regional sporting pathways.

Whether your child is a beginner, an elite athlete or loves being a part of a team, your child will greatly benefit from our extensive sports program, which encourages participation, team commitment, fitness, performance development and fun. 

Sporting Tours

St Mary's offers our students several Sporting Tours, all of which are the most prestigious competitions within that sport at a school level.

These are: 

  • QISSN Netball
  • All Schools Touch Football (both North Queensland and Queensland)
  • Confraternity Rugby League 
  • Gold Coast Marathon 

Students must undergo a rigorous selection process to be involved and partake in months of training before the event. To be selected is an honour, and we are proud of our students who represent our College on our Sporting Tours.

QISSN - Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Netball

St Mary's is Cairns' only secondary college currently competing in QISSN. QISSN is an invitation-only, state-wide Netball competition. It is a privilege and the pinnacle of our Netball program, which began in 2000, to be involved in such an elite competition. It gives our students insight, exposure to Professional Netball, and connections to elite representative pathways.  

All Schools Touch Football 

Established in 2013, St Mary's offers a high-quality touch football program that reflects the opportunity to students. Our College competes in:

  • North Queensland All Schools Competition held in Townsville and the Gold Coast Titans Queensland All Schools.
  • The NQ All Schools Touch Football competition is the school's leading Touch Football competition. It allows our students to compete against schools across North Queensland, extending and challenging their abilities at a higher level. Additionally, it provides a pathway to compete in the QLD All Schools.  
  • The Gold Coast Titans QLD All Schools is the world's largest touch football competition, with 530 teams representing schools throughout Queensland, the wider nation, and even internationally. Our College is proud to offer our students the challenge to compete against the best schools in QLD in Touch Football.  

Confraternity – Rugby League

The Confraternity Rugby League competition is a state-wide, invitation-only Rugby League competition for Catholic Schools. It is the most prestigious competition, with past competitors including NRL players such as Michael Morgan and Johnathon Thurston. Our involvement provides our student's insight and exposure to high-quality Rugby League and connections to elite representative pathways.   

Gold Coast Marathon – 10km

The Gold Coast Marathon is the most prestigious road race in Australia. It exposes our students to a high-level racing experience not available in FNQ. Students from our Run Squad are selected to attend. The event attracts Olympic and Commonwealth Champions, who provide excellent inspiration and role modelling for our students regarding health, fitness, discipline, and wellbeing. 

Run Squad

St Mary's has a well–established Run Squad program which enables students of all running abilities and ages to set challenging goals show discipline in achieving these, and nurture their health and fitness. These are all crucial wellbeing tools that students will need well beyond their high school years.  


Our College competes in several interschool competitions held throughout Cairns.  

For example;

  • Bill Turner Soccer Boys & Girls    
  • Cowboys Challenge Rugby League Competition     
  • Club Netball                                     
  • Vicki Wilson Netball                         
  • Aquathon                                         
  • Tennis 
  • Water Polo                                                
  • Cricket
  • AFL Schools Cup– Boys & Girls
  • Rugby 7's
  • Hockey 
  • Mountain bike riding 


College Sporting Carnivals 

Each year there are three Whole School events that all students are expected to attend:

  • Swimming Carnival (Term 1)
  • Cross Country (Term 2)
  • Athletics Carnival (mid-year)

Our College Sporting Carnivals value competition within an inclusive environment. Students can earn points for their House through competitive and participation events, thus allowing all students the opportunity to contribute and take part.

Weekly Sport Lesson

In addition to our curriculum HPE, our College provides students with a weekly sports lesson. Students have the opportunity to participate in various sports and activities while at the same time developing healthy habits for the future. 

JSS & CISSA

Our College competes in JSS (Junior Secondary Sport) and CISSA (Cairns Interschool Secondary Sporting Association) competitions. JSS & CISSA are an interschool competition across ten sports in our weekly sports lesson. These are AFL, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Netball, Boys Touch Football, Girls Touch Football, Boys Volleyball and Girls Volleyball.       

District & Peninsula Sporting Pathways

St Mary's is affiliated with Trinity Coast South (TCS) and Peninsula School Sport, allowing students to pursue a representative sporting pathway through the school system. 

To enquire how your student can be involved in any of St Mary's sporting opportunities, email smw.office@cns.catholic.edu.au


Touch Football Program

St Mary’s Catholic College Touch Football Program is proud to be endorsed by Touch Football Australia (TFA).  St Mary’s offers a high-quality touch football program that provides students with opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills through player and referee pathways.  By participating in Interschool, Regional and State Competitions we look forward to seeing our students grow and develop at the school, local and high-performance level.  To enquire about how your student can be involved in the St Mary’s Touch Football Program, please email smw.office@cns.catholic.edu.au.

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53 Anderson Road, Woree, QLD 4870
(07) 4044 4200 | Email Enquiry

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