A year of sporting excellence

Record participation leads to standout performances

Participation in physical activities and sport has been a part of the MLC experience since the College’s founding. While the original Baths Building and Gymnasium opened in 1890, MLCs first students quickly took up team sports, and our earliest recorded sports match is of tennis games with PLC in October 1885. Other early sports included cricket and hockey.

Since 2022, participation across MLC’s 30 Sport programs has soared, up 46% to reach all-time highs for both activity and achievement. More remarkable, this number does not include the 450+ students now attending the weekly Health and Fitness programs launched in early 2022, which offers Pilates, Spin, Strength and Conditioning and Yoga to students as well as the more recent introduction of the year-round run club and sprint squad. 

When asked about the reasons behind this growth, Director of Sport Michael Jenkins points to the College’s increased focus on deliberately developing both learning and wellbeing, “Regardless of the sport or health and fitness activity our students are involved in, I firmly believe that daily activity is the foundation of a healthy and happy life. The benefits to academics and personal wellbeing are undeniable; increased physical activity leads to better overall health, increased self-belief and greater individual wellbeing.”

“Our ambition,” explains Michael, “is to offer the most fulfilling and enjoyable sporting program for young women in Australia. This has meant deliberately evolving to offer a greater breadth of options, supporting a wider range of interests, backgrounds and skill sets.” 

The foundation to any sporting program’s success is participation and involvement. In 2025, for the fourth year in a row, MLC fielded the most GSV weekly sports teams in the association, with nearly 200 teams representing the College across 20 different weekly competitions in GSV alone. From this base of strong student engagement and increased participation has come success in competitive sports. 

“In order to have competitive sport success, you need participation and engagement,” explains Michael. “MLC has led the way in the last four years with year after year growth in involvement in our programs. Off the back of increased participation, coupled with expert coaching and support, the results have been phenomenal.”

The College now employs 300 expert staff to support the 30 sport programs on offer. Everyone is dedicated to the goal of playing sports and physical activity enjoyable, rewarding and challenging. This includes some carefully selected senior students who are supported to gain valuable experience by coaching junior sporting programs. Not only does this allow them to refine vital skills that transition into post-graduation opportunities, the consistency in their coaching work at MLC supports our culture of rewarding commitment, dedication and creating MLC pride.  

Soon, this innovative, proactive and responsive approach will further expand to meet the needs of even more MLC students. A new Adventure Sport portfolio will launch in 2026, growing the sport programs on offer as new activities such as surfing, skateboarding, speed climbing and self-defence aim to further increase student involvement in physical activity and set even more students up for life long success. The opening of the new Aquatic Centre as part of Phase 1 of the Physical Education and Sport Precinct development will coincide with the launch of MLC’s new Diving Club in 2026. This will offer on-campus diving lessons for beginners to advanced divers and allow students to compete for MLC in Diving Victoria competitions.

For Michael and the Sports Department team, it’s all about the students and the effect that sport can have on individual and community wellbeing. “The most rewarding part of the success of the Sport program at MLC over the last four years has been the noticeable uplift in school pride as a result of turning up and giving their best - for themselves, their teammates and for MLC.”

2025 Team success

GSV Swimming Premiers for the 24th year in a row

GSV Athletics Premiers for the 3rd year in a row

Over 30 Weekly Team Sport Premierships (most in GSV)

Victoria’s State Tennis School Champions (MLC’s first time ever!)

Victoria’s State Athletics Junior Team Champions (MLC’s first time ever!)

Victoria’s State Gymnastics School Champions

Victoria’s State Cross Country Ski School Champions for the 2nd year in a row

Victoria’s State Kayaking School Champions

Herald Sun Intermediate Footy Champions (MLC’s first time ever!)

Kew District Junior School Swimming Champion School (includes boy events!)

Kew District Junior School Athletics Overall Champion School (includes boy events!)

2025 Individual achievements

15 x International Representatives for Australia, Hong Kong and China

19 x National Champions across 10 sports

50 x Victorian team representatives across 18 sports

1 x Top-5 AFLW draft pick