The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) has announced the Greek Community Cup, a football (soccer) tournament, will begin on January 15 this year at Mill Park Soccer Club, Partridge Street Reserve, Victoria.
The competition will bring together soccer clubs with Greek roots to play in a pre-season tournament to secure one of two trophies—the GCM Cup or the GCM Shield.
The men’s tournament kicks off on Sunday January 15 with all games being played at the Mill Park Soccer Club. Four groups of three teams will play round games followed by knockout matches towards a final that will be held on Saturday February 11.
The teams participating in the inaugural competition are: Altona East Phoenix SC, Bentleigh Utd Cobras Lemnos, Box Hill Utd FC, Doncaster Rovers SC, East Kew Olympiakos FC, Heidelberg Utd FC, Kingston City FC, Oakleigh CanonsFC, Malvern City FC, Mill Park SC, Sth Melbourne FC, West Preston FC.
The Greek Community Cup will also feature a women’s competition, details of which will be announced soon.
For fixture details and more information check out www.greekcup.com.au
Some of the activities will centre on the 2022 NGV Architecture Commission: Temple of Boom,which celebrates Greek culture and its contributions to global cultures and perspectives.
A highlight of the festival will be Myths and Legends Storytime with Athenian-born artist, Alkisti Pitsaki. From January 17 – 19, Alkisti will bring a performative storytelling to some of the ancient world’s most interesting myths and legends.
Ahead of the NGV Kids Summer Festival, The Greek Herald spoke to Alkisti about her career and inspiration.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a director, writer and performer from Athens, Greece. I came to Australia about three years ago for my Masters in Theatre Directing program at the Victorian College of the Arts – The University of Melbourne (VCA).
I started from a very young age as a singer in a children’s choir. We would sing on stage, on TV, and in film. Singing was our everyday life and I fell in love with performing and the arts in general. In high school, I decided that I wanted more out of this hobby and that I wanted to pursue acting and theatre.
Alkisti Pitsaki.
Through my undergraduate course in Athens, I discovered directing and writing and felt that I wanted to create my own work and say something about the world around me. So I started writing shows and staging them for the first time. I have focused primarily on physical theatre plays, embodied storytelling and works that explore political and social issues.
During my master’s at the VCA, I was also a directing intern at Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. I am currently focusing on my roots and stories from Greece, as well as other stories that inspire me.
2.How does your Greek heritage inspire your work?
Growing up in Greece has affected and, I guess, inspired at times the work I make. I think it is inevitable to avoid our upbringing and our past. It is a part of us. Artists are inspired by the world around them and the world they live in. So, in a way, even the way I approach, understand, or even define art is influenced by my lived experiences. That is one of the reasons why I believe my work focuses on political and social issues.
What I think I learned in Greece was that as an artist you must know why you stage something, there should be a reason why you are presenting something and why now. I guess I see theatre as a way to communicate and have a conversation with people.
I recently worked on the ancient myth of Ariadne of Crete. I was fascinated by the myth and the story of Ariadne and how she was a secondary character in her own story. That inspired me to rewrite her story from her perspective. The original version of Ariadne was my graduating piece at the VCA, and it was presented as a bilingual audio play. We are now working on bringing this play to the stage in 2023.
Some of Alkisti’s work.
3.You’re taking part in this year’s NGV Kids Summer Festival. What activities do you have planned?
Yes! I am so happy and honoured to be part of this festival. There are so many activities and events planned. I have created a storytelling piece about the myth of Athens and how this city got its name. I hope that everyone that comes to this event gets to learn a bit about this inspiring city. I would love it if I can in any way inspire kinds to discover myths and legends.
4.This year’s NGV Architecture Commission is based on the Parthenon. What are your thoughts on artistic recreations of ancient monuments?
Temple of Boom at the NGV.
I think it’s wonderful to see works inspired by other works of art from the past. As an artist, I am always inspired by ancient stories from Greece and other parts of the world. So, it’s great to see it from other artists as well and in other mediums.
5. Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Our storytelling session at the NGV International (Great Hall) will be presented from January 17 – 19 from 12 to 12.30 pm and again from 1.30 to 2 pm. It is of course a free event, and I cannot wait to see you all there!
A traditional Greek Paniyiri is coming to the inner-west Sydney suburb of Marrickville on Australia Day this year, the Greek Festival of Sydney has announced.
The free Paniyiri will be held at the Addison Road Community Centre in Marrickville from 11am to 6pm on Thursday, January 26.
Free live music and Greek food including lamb on the spit and loukoumades will be available on the day. There will also be plenty of activities for children.
Any funds raised on the day will be donated to the Greek Community Home for the Aged.
The Paniyiri is one of three major events being held by the Greek Festival of Sydney this year to celebrate their 40th anniversary.
Other events include:
Greek Fest Darling Harbour:Sunday, 19th February 2023 | 10am – 10pm. Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour. Free local and international talent, food and drinks, market stalls, dance performances and more, this much-loved annual festival is not to be missed. International act to be announced.
Chrysoula Kouropylia was appointed assistant referee for the Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand in an announcement by the FIFA committee on Monday.
According to 24 Happenings, the Greek referee is one of 55 assistant referees selected for the games which will be held during July and August this year.
A total of 33 referees, 55 assistant referees and 19 video match officials have today been selected for the #FIFAWWC 2023! 🫡#BeyondGreatness
Referees were chosen based on their performance in FIFA tournaments as well as international and national competitions in recent years.
In the summer of 2022, Kouropylia refereed for the Women’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Lyon and the Women’s European Championship in England, according to 24 Happenings.
“The criteria we have used is ‘quality first’ and the selected on-field match officials represent the highest level of refereeing worldwide,” Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina, said in a statement.
“From the selected referees, we expect a rigorous and focused preparation for the Women’s World Cup, a competition that FIFA and its president hold in the highest of regards,” Collina further added.
Kouropylia will be a match official for the final Women’s World Cup tournaments at Eden Park in Auckland, Tāmaki Makaurau, New Zealand on July 20 and at Sydney’s Stadium, Australia on August 20.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, hopes to achieve the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to the Acropolis Museum if he wins second term in the upcoming elections in July this year.
Mitsotakis discussed the return of the sculptures in his monthly meeting with President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, on Wednesday reported amna.gr.
According to BBC news, the Greek Prime Minister said, “If the Greek people trust us again, I believe we could achieve this target after the elections.”
“In the last years, we have proceeded very methodically and we can already point to some very significant successes. The return of first fragments, such as the “Fagan fragment” or the fragments held by the Vatican, which are returning permanently to the Acropolis museum,” noted Mitsotakis.
“More importantly, we have a very significant change in the UK, on the level of public opinion but also on the level of people that have a view on the issue, from the entire political spectrum, who now openly argue in favour of the need to reunify the Parthenon Sculptures, recognising their uniqueness and their special significance for world heritage,” Mitsotakis further added according to BBC news.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
On the opposite end, the Culture Secretary the UK government, Michelle Donelan told BBC news that the Parthenon Sculptures “belong here in the UK” and should not be returned to Greece.
The ancient artworks, better known in the UK as the Elgin Marbles, are currently in the British Museum. Reports have suggested the museum’s chairman, George Osborne, is close to agreeing a deal with Greece, according to BBC news.
Ms Donelan said she’d had “several conversations” with Mr Osborne, the former chancellor. “I think his view on this has been misinterpreted and certainly portrayed wrongly,” she said.
“He’s not about to send them back, basically. That’s not his intention. He has no desire to do that. There’s also been this concept of a 100-year loan mooted as well, which is certainly not what he’s planning either.”
“He would agree with me that we shouldn’t be sending them back, and actually they do belong here in the UK, where we’ve cared for them for a great deal of time, where we’ve allowed access to them.”
Greek tennis player, Despina Papamichail, was defeated by opponent Serbian, Olga Danilovich, in the second round of the Australian Open qualifiers in Melbourne, Victoria on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Greek (No.158) was defeated by 21-year-old Danilovich (No.153) 6-3, 6-1 in 67 minutes and was out of the third qualifying round for the AO finals in Melbourne.
On Tuesday, Papamichail had advanced to the second qualifying phase of the AO by defeating Hungarian tennis player, Reka Luca Jani, in the chase for her first Grand Slam appearance.
In the fight to qualify for the third phase of the AO qualifiers, Despina levelled the match in the first set 3-3 and lost a break point in the fourth game.
The tennis player was “betrayed” by her serve and suffered four straight breaks. Despina lost the first set 6-3 and fell behind in the second 5-0 resulting in defeat.
Despina held her serve on that point, but Danilovich, daughter of the legendary Predrag Danilovic, successfully served to qualify for the third phase of the AO.
The two Greek tennis players who have qualified for the tournament finals, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, will move forward to play at the Australian Open which begins from January 16.
The Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias sent an official communication to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borel and underlined that the aggressive rhetoric of Turkish officials could lead to an accident.
In his letter sent also to European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas and the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, Mr Dendias referred to an incident on January 5, in which a Greek coast guard vessel was harassed by a Turkish patrol boat.
At the time, the Greek boat was trying to approach and identify three Turkish fishing boats, which had entered Greek territorial waters southeast of Farmakonisi in order to fish.
The letter also noted the lack of cooperation and the often aggressive attitude displayed by Turkish fishing crews toward both Greek coast guard vessels and Greek fishing craft, which was contrary to the legal fishing activities of Greek fishing vessels.
The Greek Foreign Minister notes that, “this repeated Turkish practice creates a dangerous security environment and increases the possibility of an ‘accident’, which could be used by Ankara in order to escalate the tension between Greece and Turkey”.
According to the sources, he also stressed that the EU must take steps if Turkey continues the above practice and impose a financial cost on Turkey, demanding the implementation of EU regulations for countering illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which state that any third country refusing to comply can be labelled “uncooperative” and its fishing products banned from EU markets.
Greek Australian student, Tina Papamanuel, scored a perfect 45 out of 45 in the International Baccalaureate (IB) when official marks were released last week where she attended MLC School in the inner western Sydney suburb of Burwood, NSW.
Tina, who was School Vice-Captain (Year 6 to Year 9), was also awarded the OGU Prize for Scholarship, Sportsmanship and Leadership at Speech Night 2022 for showing outstanding leadership and sportsmanship in her years at MLC School.
In an exclusive interview with The Greek Herald, Tina shared the key to her success was keeping a balance between study, sport and being involved in co-curriculars and school activities.
Instead of cutting out extra activities or spending less time with friends and family, Tina developed a studying system that included everything she wanted to do, which eventually aided in a perfect IB score.
Throughout her final year, Tina continued playing hockey for MLC and soccer for a club outside of school on Saturday’s and Sunday’s.
The Greek Australian student noted that while exercise is great for physical health, it was mostly beneficial for clearing her head and relaxing.
“I found when I came back from all those games, I was more motivated to get into work and study,” Tina told The Greek Herald. “It was also a great outlet because of the team environment.”
Tina Papamanuel
When asked about how she came to create a successful balance that worked for her, Tina responded, “I was always a bit nervous about how I would end up doing because I lived far away and I also did things after school, like my co-curriculars, so I was worried those extra few hours [after school] would be detrimental.”
“But I found the best thing was quality over quantity when it came to studying.”
The high school student shared her nuggets of wisdom for other students entering Year 12. Tina highlighted the importance of focusing on quality study by “having a plan, being efficient with the work you do in the time you have and scheduling papers so you can practice before exams.”
“Over the years I learned this balance due to wanting to have both” a good study ethic and being able to do extra activities, Tina further added.
“And my dad has always encouraged me to have this balance too.”
“Dad would say, ‘Do your sports, see your friends, do your debating—enjoy your high school experience as much as you can’,” Tina said proudly to The Greek Herald.
In the near future, Tina hopes to pursue a path in health and occupational therapy working with children.
*Please Note: The above student is one The Greek Herald could identify by their Greek name. If you believe you should be on this list, please send an email to info@foreignlanguage.com.au.
The Athens born laiko singer launched his music career after finishing his third season in the first Greek reality show, Fame Story, in 2002.
Since breaking out in the Greek music scene, Petrelis has a successful track record with three gold albums and one platinum status album. The singers popular hit singles remain on radio airways and club DJ’s playlists to this day.
Petrelis frequently tours in America, Canada, London and Australia and is set to perform in Canberra.
The concert has been organised by the Hellenic Club of Canberra.
Tickets for the event are $120 per person including Mezethes. You can book tickets here: bit.ly/3VWlGND
Greek Australian tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis sat down recently with Mark Soderstorm for a personal chat about his journey in tennis,The Advertiser has reported.
Speaking on the SodaRoom podcast, Kokkinakis dived into his relationship with Nick Kyrgios and said he is a close friend, having known each other since they competed in kids’ tennis events at nine and ten years old.
He said that even from young Nick “was loud” and that the only difference is there is “just a few more cameras on him now.”
The Greek Australian pair won the Australian Open doubles in 2022 and they aim to defend their title in 2023, despite Kyrgios’ ankle injury causing some doubts.
Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios after winning the Australian Men’s double final in 2022. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.
Among the triumphs in Kokkinakis’ career, the athlete also reflected on the more challenging times in the sport.
He candidly described his descent into depression after he defeated then World No.1 Roger Federer at the Miami Masters in 2018 but did not win a game after for 492 days.
“After that it was brutal. I did my full off-season to start the next year. I got glandular fever, missed the Aussie Open, lost 14 kilos, had my tonsils out, was on all these meds and then COVID hit,” he told the SodaRoom podcast.
“At that point I had serious depression.”
Kokkinakis defeated then World No.1 Federer at the Miami Masters in 2018. Photograph: Geoff Burke.
The tennis star said he made it through the hardships with the support of his close family, friends and coach Todd Langman.
He entered 2021 in a different mindset and came to Adelaide at the start of 2022 on the back of a great off-season. Kokkinakis made the semi-finals in the first of the two back-to-back ATP events and won the second, beating Arthur Rinderkech in three sets to win his first singles title on the tour.
“That was definitely an emotional period and definitely the highlight of my career, for sure,” he said.
Speaking on the eve of the Australian Open, Kokkinakis said he’s ready to play his best.
“This year, I’m gonna try and commit a little bit more to the other side of it, where I’m just focused in and just seeing where I can get to ranking-wise,” Kokkinakis said.
“Who knows? It might be good, it might not be good. It might not suit me. But yeah, I’ll give it a nudge.”
