Starting at the beginning of the school year, the Campaspe division holds several carnivals where students from across the region compete against one another.
Sports include athletics, tennis, football, soccer, netball, cricket, bowls, hockey and cross-country, with usually one event held a month.
Rob Morris, a former teacher at St Mary’s School in Echuca, has helped facilitate these opportunities since 1984, becoming the Campaspe district co-ordinator 11 years ago.
Morris chairs a monthly meeting with school representatives, ensuring all are on the same page with the organisation of carnivals.
The district carnivals are the first step for students who wish to represent their school at a regional or state level.
Most sports see the team or individuals who win at district level go on to play in the regional finals in Swan Hill.
The regional carnivals incorporate a wider net of schools spanning Kyabram to Mildura, with Swan Hill being the Campaspe division’s regional venue as it is a midpoint between the two locations.
The next step in the School Sports Victoria program after regionals are state finals in Melbourne, creating a clear pathway from local involvement to statewide recognition.
Most local schools still hold their own sports day or swimming carnival, though the Campaspe division will also hold athletics and swimming events so it can identify regional representatives.
For most district events, particularly athletics and swimming, there is a balance that Morris needs to find.
Instead of always being open carnivals, some schools will send their better performers to face off against the best in their cohort from around the district, given the carrot of regional finals on offer for the winners.
“We probably try and run it more as a participation to get a lot of kids involved, but at the end of the day, we need to choose the best,” Morris said.
“So our swimming carnival probably has four heats of all swimmers, three heats probably might not be able to swim that well, but they all get a chance to swim in the carnival, and then we get the chance to choose the winner.
“We're a bit guarded between participation and championship.”
Having witnessed how schools across the Campaspe region have performed for just more than 40 years, Morris said the district had made notable improvement in swimming, especially since the Echuca War Memorial Aquatic Centre opened in 1996.
This move allowed swimmers to train year round, as opposed to only having an outdoor pool that would close in February.
He added that the Campaspe division was also very competitive at the regional level in cricket, football and netball.
Football was on the agenda earlier this week, with the Campaspe Girls Football Carnival held on Wednesday, July 22 at Moama Recreation Reserve.
A total of 150 girls competed across eight teams, with St Mary’s defeating Echuca East Primary School in the decider, though as finalists, both will participate at the regional finals.
Moama will also hold an athletics carnival on August 25 and 26.
Regional events are also taking place in term three, with the football and hockey finals on August 13, and soccer and netball on August 18.
“We’re trying to promote as best opportunity as we can for all the district kids, all the local kids to have as many opportunities as possible in sport, and we're doing really well with that,” Morris said.
“You’ve just got to keep fitting into school curriculums and programs.”
