Country Week or Country Senior High Schools Carnival is an annual

multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

carnival held in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

between rural high schools from Western Australia. The carnival is organised by School Sport WA. The carnival includes sports such as Australian rules football,

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, soccer,

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

in a range of divisions. Non-sporting competitions in areas such as speech, debating and dance have also been added to the event schedule. Country Week is recognised as being the biggest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The event typically involves about 40 schools with around 3,000 students and over 200 teachers and support staff. The carnival is held toward the end of the second school term in late June and early July and lasts for one week. The Amanda Young Foundation has supported the event by donating

water bottle A water bottle is a container that is used to hold liquids, mainly water, for the purpose of transporting a drink with oneself while travelling or while otherwise away from a supply of potable water. A water bottle is usually made of plastic, g ...

s to all participating students. The bottles carry messages about the dangers of sharing water bottles to prevent the spread of

meningococcal disease Meningococcal disease describes infections caused by the bacterium ''Neisseria meningitidis'' (also termed meningococcus). It has a high mortality rate if untreated but is vaccine-preventable. While best known as a cause of meningitis, it can a ...

. In 2015 the number of participants at the carnival was approximately 3,700, with the RAC sponsoring the event distributing water bottles as part of a

road safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-roa ...

campaign, highlighting the over representation of young drivers dying on country roads.

Venues

The opening and closing ceremonies were held at

Perry Lakes Stadium Perry Lakes Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium adjacent to Perry Lakes in Floreat, Western Australia. It was built and funded by the State Government and the City of Perth in 1962 for the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and had ...

from 1962 to 2008. Perry Lakes Stadium was declared unsafe for use in 2009 and later demolished in 2010. As a result, the opening and closing ceremonies were held at

Challenge Stadium Perth Superdrome, known as HBF Stadium under a commercial naming rights arrangement, is a sports complex in Perth, Western Australia. It is home to the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS). The venue is located in the suburb of Mount Cl ...

in 2009 and 2010 and will continue to be held there in the future. UWA sports park (commonly known as MacGillvray Oval) is the focal point of the tournament with football, soccer, touch rugby and many hockey games being played on the there. The remainder of the hockey games are played on the nearby UWA hockey Club

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

. The volleyball fixtures are played at

, while basketball fixtures were played at

up until 2009, in 2010 basketball fixture were relocated to the

Western Australian Basketball Centre The WA Basketball Centre (also known by its sponsored name, the Bendat Basketball Centre) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium features eight courts, including two basketball show courts with 1,100 perma ...

which is located next to the Western Australian Athletics Stadium which in turn is next to

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

Games were played at Matthews Park at the outdoor Perth Netball Association Courts up until 2010. In 2010 and 2011 netball fixtures were relocated to the indoor

acrylic Acrylic may refer to: Chemicals and materials * Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound * Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity * Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosett ...

courts of Lords in Subiaco. Once the redevelopment of the Matthews Netball Centre Courts was completed in 2013 fixtures for netball were moved back to the centre in 2014 making use of the 47 courts 19 of which are indoors.

History

The first country week was held in Perth in 1924 and the only sport played was Australian rules football. At this time Perth schools were able to compete but Eastern Goldfields High School won the carnival.

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

won in the next carnival in 1925 with only football being played again. No competition was held for the next two years but resumed in 1928 with Bunbury High School winning. In 1928, four schools competed; Northam, Albany, Bunbury and Eastern Goldfields. The sports on offer that year were football, hockey and athletics. Football games were played at various locations including

Perth Oval Perth Oval, currently branded HBF Park (under a sponsorship agreement with HBF Health Fund) and called Perth Rectangular Stadium for international football matches, is a sports stadium in Perth, the capital of the Australian state of Western ...

and

Leederville Oval Leederville Oval (known as Medibank Stadium under a naming rights agreement between 2006 and 2016) is an Australian rules football ground located in Leederville, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The ground is used as a home ground by two c ...

, hockey games were played at the Esplanade and the Teachers Training College. No competitions were held between 1940 and 1950. Countryweek recommenced in 1951 with

again winning the football shield. By 1952, girls teams began to compete in the event in

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

with Bunbury High School winning the first tournament and awarded the High School Superintendents trophy.

became part of the carnival in 1954 with Northam High School winning the first Netball shield, known as the Commonwealth Jubilee Celebrations shield. The first event not of a sporting nature was added to the carnival in 1974 with individuals speech. A Geraldton Senior High School student, Susan Shea, won the first event. Girls

was added to the tournament in 1979 with Eastern Goldfields High School winning the first competition. The next sport to be added to the roster was boys

in 1982 with

Collie Senior High School Collie Senior High School is a Comprehensive education, comprehensive Public school (government funded), public Mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary education#Australia, high day school, located in Collie, Western Australia, Collie, a r ...

emerging triumphant in the initial tournament. A new shield was added to the competition in 1984 with the Champion School Shield being added to the prize roster. Points are awarded for every event and the school that achieves the highest total number of point wins the shield. The first school to win the shield was

Narrogin Senior High School Narrogin Senior High School is a Comprehensive education, comprehensive Public school (government funded), public Mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary education#Australia, high day school, located in Narrogin, Western Australia, Narrogi ...

. In 1986, boys

was introduced to the competition and girls volleyball followed in 1987,

Busselton Senior High School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Public co-educational high day school , educational_authority = WA Department of Education , principal = John Watters , location = West Busselton, South West region, ...

won both of the initial tournaments. Boys

was added to the competition in 1991 with

Newton Moore Senior High School , motto_translation = , established = , type = Independent public co-educational high day school , educational_authority = WA Department of Education , principal = Susan Kerr , location = So ...

being the first to win the CBA trophy. The event was cancelled in 1995 and a result of industrial action between teachers and the state government. The State School Teachers Union of Western Australia instituted a work to rule order and teachers, who volunteer their time to coaching teams, supervising the students and organising the event, supported the order. In 1999, boys soccer was added to the tournament and North Albany Senior High School were the first school to win the trophy. Dance was added as an event to the tournament in 2003 with North Albany Senior High School winning the inaugural competition. In 2004, Albany Senior High School won the champion school for the fifth time in a row to beat the previous record four time in a row held by Narrogin Senior High School between the years 1987 to 1990. Industrial action by the State School Teachers Union of Western Australia marred Countryweek in 2008 with many of the larger schools such as Albany Senior High School,

Australind Senior High School Australind Senior High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high day school, located in Australind, a regional centre in the South West region, south of Perth, Western Australia. Overview The campus is made up of modern buildings ...

Bunbury Senior High School Bunbury Senior High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high day school, located in Bunbury, a regional centre in the South West region, south of Perth, Western Australia. History The school was established in 1918 and in 2017 ha ...

and

not competing in any events. Only 27 schools entered the event down from 39 the year before. Esperance Senior High School won the champion school for 2008 as one of the larger school competing in the event. In 2009, the opening and closing ceremonies were held at

for the first time, as

had been earmarked for demolition.

won the champion school award in 2009 for the first time since the school started competing in 1928. The school team was composed of twelve separate teams with a total of 135 students competing on most sports. In 2010, Albany Senior High School regained the champion school award and

came second.

was awarded the champion school at the closing ceremony following a mix up in the tallying of results, Albany Senior High School received the award back later.

Great Southern Grammar Great Southern Grammar is an independent non-denominational Christian co-educational primary and secondary day and boarding school, located in the Great Southern regional town of Kalgan, Western Australia between the King River and the K ...

won the meritorious shield for the first time in 2010 after coming runners up in 2009. 2010 also marked a year of venue changes with

games being played at Lords in

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner- western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. Historically a working-cl ...

instead of Henderson Park and Basketball games being played at

instead of Perry Lakes. 2011 again saw Albany Senior High School win the champion school award and

come second. Bunbury Cathedral Grammar regained the meritorious shield from

. The 2012 tournament was opened at Challenge Stadium with Albany Senior High School asking for a minutes silence for Neil Ritchie, a teacher at the school, who had died a fortnight before. The competition finished with

taking home the school shield and Albany Senior High School come second.

were again runners up for the mertirous shield this time to Western Australian College of Agriculture – Narrogin who won their first shield in the competition. Bunbury Senior High School were champion school again in 2013 ahead of Albany Senior High School.

Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School (often denoted BCGS), is an independent school in Gelorup, Western Australia, a semi-rural suburb 10 kilometres south of Bunbury. Providing kindergarten, primary and secondary education, the school serves approx ...

won the meritorious shield with Western Australian College of Agriculture – Narrogin coming runners up. Albany Senior High School was awarded the champion school shield in 2016 but has to hand it over to Bunbury Senior High School following a recount. The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

Pandemic.

Selected results

Results for 2005 to 2016 – Boys A Division Results for 2005 to 2016 – Girls A Division Results for 2005 to 2016 – School Results

References

External links

* {{Multi-sport events 1924 establishments in Australia Carnivals in Australia Multi-sport events in Australia Recurring sporting events established in 1924 Sports competitions in Western Australia Articles containing video clips High school sports in Australia

Venues

History

Selected results

See also

References

External links