I agree with the Inside Shoulder (and others) unsustainable arms race line in many respects. I don’t think this is Scholarship or Bursary driven. Indulge me in a little meander before I get to what I believe is the root cause of the Arms Race.
Should the big fish stay in the small pond?
One issue to consider is that with the dearth of opportunities to practice Heavensgame in most public schools (compared to the last 100 years where sport and rugby were more prominent than they are now in the public school system), how does the talented (and possible dual coder) kid get regular tough rugby games and development opportunities if he stays within the public system?
It could be said that Village Club footy is designed to fill that gap. But look at the numbers of teams in the higher age groups in Sydney Juniors and there is not much opportunity for this to occur. Secondly many of the "tougher" Juniors rugby competition games are now played on Sunday. While this suits the Saturday School playing kids who can get two games a weekend, Sunday is the main game day for mungoball. The dual coder can be lost to rugby at a critical development phase if they can not get into a tough Saturday competition. For many kids (and family) this may mean a very large commute for questionable quality of game. In most of the upper age groups in the Sydney Saturday competition, there are only 2 or 3 genuinely competitive opponents in the competition. Hardly a viable development tool.
Would you blame parents who put together DVD and CV’s in a hope to get their talented kid enrolled into a glamour school?
Don’t forget the influence of Mungo, and Shute Shield talent scouts and managers. These guys are driven by either personal or club driven needs, and care little about more philosophical issues such as a balanced and fair competition across all NSW High schools.
How rife is School Driven Importing?
I sometimes wonder about the actual level of "importing" that is going on out there in School land, and think that it is actually significantly less than most would otherwise believe.
I think the number of actual scholarships/bursaries/ assisted students is inflated for the following reasons:
Self esteem. "If I tell everyone that I am/my son is on a rugby scholarship, it will make me feel good, and others will respect me for my/my son’s obvious superiority"
Jealousy. "That kid is good, and I didn't notice him last year, so he must be an import on a scholarship".
Could be a late developer, or a victim of selection politics from the previous year, who was in the C's or D's last year.
Athletic Development. "That kid was at xxxxx Boys High last year. He made Zone Under 15's, therefore he must be on a scholarship".
The parents or extended family may have found some funds to send their talented athlete to a private school for senior college that they believe may assist the boys long term athletic development better than staying at xxxxxx Boys High School. This may possibly be for one year only (Y12) 'cause it is really expensive but they are prepared to mortgage the house for their boy's future prospects. This is obviously a scholarship. Is that family going to send their boy to Newtown High School of Performing Arts to enhance his Athletic Development? I know it is a public high school but have used this example for hyperbole purposes.
Racism/Snobbery. "That good player has a different skin colouring/ethnic/socio economic background to those I usually expect at xxxxx College, and they are a good athlete. They must be on scholarship". “The family do not have a BMW 4WD. Their 1996 Tarago proves that they can’t afford the fees, therefore they must be on a scholarship”. “They live in Bankstown. I can’t believe that they can afford the fees. They must be on a scholarship” etc.
Say no more.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story when trying to reconcile the present day comparatively poor performance of your previously “awesome” old school, console your ego and retain your bragging rights over old foes; or dealing with your precious child that has just become roadkill from a poorly executed tackle on a boy in the JGS/NGS programme. “They have to be cheating”.
A Victim of their own Marketing Success?
In many respects the GPS in particular Schools are a victim of their own marketing success with parents being drawn towards those schools based on the perception that their son will be better off educationally or athletically if they attend. I know of plenty of parents who have mortgaged their houses to be able to send their kids to certain schools. Did this happen back in the day?
Once a school gets a name for having a soft rugby programme, then those who seek better rugby development for their boys (victims of GPS marketing reinforcing parental perceptions and prejudices) will desert that school en mass further reducing the ability of that "soft" school to compete with the big guns. It would take a very brave and principled parent NOT to joint the exodus away from the perceived rugby easy beats.
This is how the Rugby Arms Race begins, and has almost got to a point where it is now more or less self sustaining because Rugby is a legitimate occupation, something it was not for most of the 100+ years of the AAGPS.
Yes it will eventually disappear up its own fundamental orifice, in the same way that all empires always do.
Do not fear another will rise from the ashes, as it always does.
Who is Guilty?
How many kids are actually on genuine AAGPS code of practice breaching scholarships?
Sydney High – Probably none (Selectively academic, but are trying hard to attract more sporty smart kids in senior college provided they can keep up with the academic workload)
Grammar – Probably none
Armidale – Probably not. It would only be an issue if, and when, they started beating the city schools.
Shore – Probably none.
Joeys – hard to believe there are many, if any
View - hard to believe there are many, if any
New, Kings, Scots – All are frequently accused of being in breach, but I would be very surprised if there were genuinely more than 3 per year in senior college, and perhaps 1 or 2 per year in the middle school. Most of these would be rather arms length scholarships as well.
The above statements are made on the basis of Gaggerlanders contributions to this and other threads.
When the subject of Scholarships comes up, despite sweeping statements of mass importing made by some, when it all comes down to brass tacks, it seems to be no more than a few names from each school that are mentioned. These same names come up with monotonous regularity. None of this indicates to me that Importing/Scholarshiping is the big problem many make it out to be.
The Root Cause of the Arms Race – Full Fee Paying Parents
I believe that the Sydney GPS Rugby arms race is being fuelled by full fee paying Parents rather than scholarships.
Cash flow from Parental demand means the schools have more money to spend on their rugby programme, coaches, facilities, tours, resources etc. The schools must meet Parents expectations for an advanced rugby programme; otherwise they would lose their rugby Cash Cow revenue stream. Parents with talented athletes (real or otherwise) will seek out the school with the good rugby programme and resources. They will pay full fees for that privilege. The School will then have more athletically capable kids who are able to win premierships, taking full advantage of their rugby programme, coaches, gyms, resources etc. A vicious circle.
