The 4th instalment of the Queensland Mental Health Week 9s Carnival was the biggest and most evenly contested yet. Last Friday (14 October), 14 Rugby League 9s teams across both the boys and girls divisions competed for the annual Bishop Putney Shield at the Townsville Sports Reserve.

Congratulations to Good Shepherd Catholic College, Mount Isa for being crowned the boys champions 12-0 over St Teresa's College, Abergowrie and Gilroy Santa Maria College, Ingham for taking out the girls division 12-4 over St Margaret Mary's College, Hyde Park in a thrilling Grand Final. The girls competition in particular has gone to a whole new level in 2022 with most schools having both a boys and a girls team and the skill and speed rising each time they take to the field. 

St Margaret Mary's College has taken home the Mary Help of Christians Shield after a convincing victory over the previously undefeated Ryan Catholic College in the Grand Final of the netball competition as part of the Queensland Mental Health Week Carnival.

The netball competition, which was played at the Townsville Sports Precinct saw four schools compete for the title. Ryan Catholic College was the first to book their spot in the Grand Final by finishing first on the ladder after the round games by defeating St Margaret Mary's College, St Anthony's Catholic College and Southern Cross Catholic College.

They were then joined in the decider by St Margaret Mary's after they defeated Southern Cross and St Anthony's. St Anthony's finished the competition in third place after beating Southern Cross in the third place playoff.

The Queensland Mental Health Week Carnival was the final netball competition for schools in what has been a busy 2022, with all of the schools also competing in Secondary Block Sports competitions, the Catholic Schools Cup, Vicki Wilson Championships, and QISSN.

The Carnival was used by schools to either begin preparations for 2023 by fielding younger students, or a final carnival to farewell their Year 12 students, most of whom represented their respective schools for many years.

The October 14 event was supported from members of the North Queensland Cowboys development and welfare team, The Townsville Referees Association volunteered their time, Ray Thompson from the NQ Cowboys and Resilience Project, volunteers from Mentally Healthy City Townsville & The Bishop Putney Fellowship were all on hand to mingle and raise awareness. All of these outstanding local ambassadors for mental health were on hand to share their own unique stories and tips for living a mindful life and working towards a positive mindset. Every school should be proud of the behaviour and sportsmanship shown across the day and positive interactions between students from each school. Everyone competed in the right spirit and we sincerely hope that it had a positive impact on the mindset of each student and staff member involved. 

The carnival gets stronger and stronger each year and this is due to having a passionate support team all with the same “why” in mind. The “why” is to help initiate conversations, participate in physical activity (positive influence on the mind) and an opportunity to generally check in on your mates.
Thank-you again for the 2022 organising committee, SCCC P&F, the Townsville & District Rugby League Referees and North Queensland Toyota Cowboys for the support of the carnival.

School sport is a wonderful engagement tool as students are making positive connections with team mates and students from all over North Queensland, building resilience and getting a high level of physical exercise, which all leads to a positive mindset. Through sport we can encourage an active, healthy lifestyle to drive change and to promote wellbeing/speaking up amongst our younger generations throughout the entire region.