The Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS) are a group of eleven independent schools in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, similar to the

Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales The Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS) is a sporting association of boys' schools in New South Wales, Australia that contest sporting events among themselves. The AAGPS was formed on 30 March 1892, and ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and the

Public Schools Association Established in 1905 the Public Schools Association, or the PSA, is an association of seven independent boys schools in Perth, Western Australia. The descriptor 'public school' references the historical usage of the term and the model of the Brit ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The descriptor 'Public School' references the historical usage of the term and the model of the British

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

. The first meet of Public Schools Sports was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 30 November 1870 with Melbourne Grammar School, Scotch College and Wesley College competing and winning that order. The Association was established in 1908 so that students of the member schools may compete against each other on the sporting fields, the original competition sports were

Australian Rules Football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

and

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. Students now compete in a variety of sports, which are split into three seasons, Summer, Winter and Spring. Students in Year 7 and above compete on Saturdays and students in primary year levels compete on Wednesday afternoons. Major annual competitions include the APS Head of the River Rowing Regattas, the APS Combined Swimming & Diving Championships and the APS Combined Athletics Championships. In March 2005, the APS member schools formed a set of guidelines regarding the awarding of sporting scholarships to students, following criticism of recruiting practices employed by some schools. The headquarters of the APS is known as APS House and is located on Church Street in

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

Schools

Current member schools

Sports

Boys * Athletics * Australian Rules Football * Stand Up Paddle Boarding * Badminton * Basketball * Cricket * Cross Country * Diving (since 2015) * Futsal * European Handball * Gymnastics * Hockey * Rowing * Rugby (VSRU runs this competition) * Sailing * Soccer * Squash * Swimming & Diving (combined with Diving from 1998 to 2015) * Table Tennis * Tennis * Volleyball * Water Polo Girls * Athletics * Australian Rules Football (since 2019) * Badminton * Basketball * Cross Country * Diving (since 2015) * Gymnastics * Hockey * Netball * Rowing * Soccer * Softball * Swimming & Diving (combined with Diving from 1998 to 2015) * Tennis * Touch Football (since 2017) * Volleyball * Water Polo

Combined Sports

Students from the Association's member schools participate in a number of Combined Sports (Championship Carnivals) during the year including Swimming, Diving, Rowing and Athletics.

The APS Regatta (Heads of the River)

The Victorian Head of the River race is contested between the 11 APS schools, the race is usually the last race of the official APS rowing season and has recently been rowed on

Lake Nagambie Lake Nagambie is a manmade reservoir located in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Goldfields region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The lake was formed by the damming of the Goulburn River by the Goulburn Weir. The town of Nagamb ...

which is a full buoyed international standard course allowing six boat finals. Girls from the APS also participate in the Head of the Schoolgirls regatta, where they compete with schools from the

Girls Sport Victoria (GSV) Girls' Sport Victoria (GSV) was established in 2001, and is one of the largest independent school sporting associations in Victoria, Australia, with 24 member schools from around Melbourne. GSV provides approximately 16,500 girls, from years se ...

group.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Associated Public Schools Of Victoria Australian school sports associations Organisations based in Melbourne 1908 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1908