Over 200 seminarians from across Australia gathered from the 4th to the 6th of August, in Wagga Wagga, to compete at the annual Inter-Seminary Soccer Tournament. A team of twenty-five from Corpus Christi competed, finishing third overall. Third Year Seminarian and team Goalie, Tom Christie, gives his reflection.
The weekend began with evening Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Wagga Wagga Diocesan Seminary’s opening. It was fitting that this Mass was celebrated on the Wagga Wagga Seminary’s patronal feast day, of St. John Vianney, who is the patron saint of priests. It was truly uplifting and edifying to be sitting alongside over two-hundred other seminarians at this Mass, with there being a true sense of solidarity amongst the seminarians.
On the 5th of August, the soccer tournament kicked off across three soccer pitches at a park reserve in Wagga Wagga. The tournament was in a round-robin format, with each Seminary playing a total of six matches, with us finishing the day in third place.
Highlights included a dominant 5-0 win over Brisbane’s Holy Spirit Seminary, as well as a solid 2-0 win over Sydney’s Good Shepherd Seminary. Congratulations to Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary from Sydney, who won the tournament for the day. This win was achieved after a nail biting penalty shoot-out in the Grand Final against Good Shepherd Seminary.
Later that night, all seminarians and staff members gathered together at the Wagga Wagga Country Club for dinner and official presentation of awards. It was a great opportunity to have a chat with each other and re-count all the feats from earlier in the day. Our captain, Andrew Kwiatkowksi, received the “Golden Boot” award for kicking the most goals on the day. It was a deserving award to Andrew for all the effort he put into our team training in the months leading up to this tournament.
Thank you to all who were involved in this year’s Corpus Christi soccer team. We look forward to competing next year in Parramatta for the 2018 Inter-Seminary Soccer Tournament.
