Foundation

Thank You For Your Support

I would like to thank all members of our community who so generously support our strategic development programs and also those who give their time and volunteer in various sections of the School.

“Giving is not just making a donation, it is about making a difference.” Together we can make a difference and contribute to the advancement of Redlands facilities and also to change lives for well deserving students.

If you still interested to join us and make a difference before the EOFY, please visit HERE.

“We’ve got Spirit, Yes we do! We’ve got Spirit, How about you?!”

Over the last two weeks we have enjoyed watching students in fun competition at our annual Swimming & Athletics Carnivals. Congratulations to the champion athletes and the winning Houses.

Today students compete at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, however, over the years, Swimming Carnivals have taken place in other venues including the North Sydney Olympic Pool and the Warringah Aquatic Centre. During the 1980s students looked forward to ‘training’ at Balmoral Baths (now the Public Dining Room), and dodged jelly fish and other recreational swimmers before spending pocket money to buy a chocolate bar for the return bus trip to school.

Gergaynia Becket (Redlander 1957) competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics at 15 years of age, and again at the 1960 Summer Olympics. She was trained by her father (not a swimmer himself) in ocean pools around Manly and Middle Harbour.

The Athletics Carnival, which took place on Tuesday at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre, was a wonderful reflection of House Spirit. In the 1950s students would travel to Moss Vale for Carnivals, and in the 1970s most novelty events took place at Mosman Oval, of which we have some wonderful footage from Sarah Cowper (Redlander 1972) who recently donated to our archives. It is after Sarah’s great grandfather that Cowper House is named. Mr Cowper was for many years the Honorary Treasurer of the SCEGGS Group.

A Redlander at the FIFA World Cup – Rob Sheppard (2012)

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games     2021 FIFA Club World Cup UAE.

After graduating from Redlands, I moved up to Queensland to study at Bond University and came away 4 years later with 3 degrees (Law, Communication and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice) and a whole heap of sunny memories. After about 1 year of working as a solicitor in Queensland I realised that the legal profession wasn’t the right fit and so decided to chase the dream I have had since I was a child and throughout my time at Redlands: International Sport.

After getting my first taste of the raw emotions of international sporting events at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games working in the local organising committee, I discovered that there was an entire global circuit of sporting event professionals who travel around to the 4 corners of the globe to plan and deliver international sporting events.

From there begun a global adventure that has spanned the last 6 years and me living and/or working in 6 different countries: Australia, Switzerland, Scotland, Italy, Qatar and the UAE. From soaking up the southern Italian sun in Naples to trying to learn Glaswegian in Scotland and enjoying the desert life in the Middle East, whilst creating events that left a mark on millions of people the world over, it truly has been a dream.

After all this fun I decided to put my head down again and head back to studies, completing my Master of Advanced Studies at AISTS in Switzerland (Master in Sport Management – AISTS – International Academy of Sport), the World’s #1 Masters in Sports Management. This involved a lot of work with international sporting bodies, for example with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, for whom I did some consulting work to help make the world a better place through sport.

The adventure continued after this and I was lucky enough to be offered a position at FIFA, the global governing body for Football (soccer as we call it in Australia) in the central project management department of the Events Division, working on and creating memories for sport and football fans at events such as the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Olympic Games and Futsal and Beach Soccer World Cups. The work involved regular travel (with a pause during the peak of COVID) with very rarely having a month without international travel.

It’s a real treat to be able to help people experience outstanding sporting events and to work in and experience such different cultures as in Costa Rica, India, North America, the Middle East or even right in my backyard in Switzerland, where Swiss German is an adventure in itself to learn!

I am now back in Australia for a few months to work remotely from here, focussing on the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, that will take place from July to August 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, including in Sydney.

Redlands really allowed me to leverage my international background with not only a strong educational path but also a way forward in life outside of work, knowing that you should always chase the memories that you will look back on with fondness and that sometimes taking a risk will pay out tenfold down the line.

Never be afraid to be who you are and create as many positive memories as you can, every day – after all, isn’t that what life is about?

Mrs Dana Casimaty
Director of Development
dcasimaty@redlands.nsw.edu.au
9968 9858