The 2022 Football NSW Silver Medal Dinner took centre stage at the Hyatt Regency on Friday, September 23 as players, coaches and officials attended what was a fantastic evening acknowledging the achievements from the League One, Two and Three Men’s and League One Women’s competitions.
It was a fantastic season for both males and females as they got together for a dinner proudly presented by Daniel Garb and attended by over 580 guests.
It was all smiles considering this event was put on hold for two years due to COVID-affected seasons in 2020 and 2021.
Well over 40 awards were given on the evening with the Player of the Year selections the pick of the bunch.
The Silver Medal Dinner 2022. Photo: Football NSW.
Liam Spiropoulos from Dulwich Hill FC in Sydney’s Inner West, won the Under 20s / Reserve Grade Golden Boot for his role in the League 2 men’s competition.
The League 3 Men’s competition saw a joint award given to UNSW FC’s Matias Da Silva Santos and Hawkesbury City FC’s Marco Turpeinen for their performances as voted by the clubs.
It was Inter Lions’ Oliver Green that dominated the headlines in the League Two Men’s competition as he played a pivotal in guiding his side to the Premiership.
Silver Medal winners. Photo: Football NSW.
Northbridge Bulls’ exciting attacker Tamires Souza was unstoppable in the League One Women’s competition as she picked up the Player of the Year award – it was her second award of the night as she also scooped the Golden Boot award.
Finally, another joint award was presented in the League One Men’s competition with NWS Spirit FC’s Kota Odakura and Central Coast Mariners’ Lachlan Bayliss both being crowned Player of the Year winners in their respective competition. It was young Bayliss’ second award of the evening after picking up the Golden Boot also.
Greece’s Presidential Guard will visit Western Australia for the first time in November to attend commemoration events marking Greek National Day (OXI Day), the Consulate of Greece in Perth has announced.
A unit of Evzones will be in Perth, the capital city of WA, from November 1 to November 7 and will participate in a number of events to mark the historical day. This will give locals a chance to see them up close.
The Evzones will take part in the official celebration of OXI Day in Perth on Sunday, November 6.
This announcement comes as South Australian Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Tom Koutsantonis, confirmed last week that Greece’s Presidential Guard would also be visiting SA for OXI Day commemorations.
During their SA visit, the Evzones will partake in a week-long series of events, including the unveiling of a memorial at St George Greek Orthodox Church in Thebarton.
Cypriot Interior Minister, Nikos Nouris, said on Monday that the Republic of Cyprus is asking for help from the United Nations to stem a recent ‘avalanche’ of asylum-seekers in the country.
Mr Nouris said the asylum-seekers are making their way from the ethnically divided island’s breakaway north across a UN-controlled buffer zone to seek refuge in numbers that authorities can’t cope with.
According to Ekathimerini, Mr Nouris said 94 percent of the 15,130 asylum-seekers who filed applications with the divided island’s internationally recognised government in the south through August this year had traversed the buffer zone. That is double the number from the same period last year.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) controls the buffer zone between the opposing sides. Photo: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.
The Interior Minister said the UN has no mandate under its 58-year peacekeeping mission in Cyprus to carry out operations aimed at halting the flow of migrants across the buffer zone. But the peacekeeping force has sole jurisdiction of the entire 180 kilometre no-man’s land.
Mr Nouris will travel to New York this week for meetings with the UN Secretary-General’s Cabinet Chief Courtenay Rattray and UN Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix to brief them in detail about the situation.
Turkey has summoned the Greek ambassador and protested to Washington after accusing Greece of deploying United States armoured vehicles on two Aegean islands near the Turkish coast.
The demarche was presented to Greece’s ambassador in Ankara, Christodoulos Lazaris, on Monday.
The latest escalation started when Turkish security sources shared aerial images over the weekend allegedly showing ships loaded with US armoured vehicles docking at two Greek islands, Lesvos and Samos.
The demarche claimed that the presence of these armoured vehicles in the eastern Aegean were a violation of the islands’ demilitarised status.
Armoured vehicles in the eastern Aegean.
In response, Athens rejected Ankara’s objections on Monday as “completely unfounded and incompatible with international law,” according to Greek diplomatic sources.
Ambassador Lazaris also pointed out that Turkey continues to violate Greece’s sovereignty with its continuous airspace violations and its flights over Greek territory.
Sydney’s three Greek schools – All Saints Grammar, St Spyridon College and St Euphemia College – have all held special graduation ceremonies for their Year 12 students this past week.
All Saints Grammar:
Year 12 students at All Saints Grammar in Belmore in Sydney’s inner south west officially concluded 13 years of schooling on Thursday, 15 September with a Valedictory Doxology and Awards Presentation Ceremony.
The Doxology Service, held at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church, was officiated by His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia representing His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
Following the service, Academic and Special Awards were presented to high achieving Year 12 students by the Head of School, Mrs Elfa Lillis and Head of Secondary, Mr Jaime Rodriguez.
Mrs Lillis, in her message to the Year 12 students, spoke about the role of All Saints Grammar in shaping the students ‘into the fine young people you are today’.
“On behalf of the entire All Saints Grammar community, we wish you every success in the upcoming HSC examinations. You will be in our thoughts and prayers”, Mrs Lillis said.
This was followed by messages from Year 12 School Captains, Olga-Liana Athanasatos and George Gregory.
Official proceedings concluded with the presentation of graduation certificates and the Graduation Oath of Thanksgiving followed by a morning tea.
In 2021, offers for university placement were received by 100% of the students that applied based on their ATAR scores.
All Saints Grammar has been helping shape the lives of students and partnering with families since 1990. Founded by the Parish and Community of Belmore and District, the School was established to support families in their quest to introduce and instil Hellenic values and the Orthodox Christian faith to the next generation of Greek Australians. Today, our School attracts students from many different faiths and backgrounds. ASG is now accepting enrolments for all entry years for 2023.
St Spyridon College:
There were three main events to celebrate the HSC Class 2022 at St Spyridon College in the Sydney suburb of Kensington.
The Farewell Assembly was held on Friday, September 16 for Year 12 students together with their parents and extended family.
On Monday, September 19 the Doxology Service was held for Year 12 students and their parents and extended family, together with Years 6 – 11 students and senior staff.
The Thanksgiving Service was presided over by the Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne, Very Reverend Father Christophoros Krikelis, who represented Archbishop Makarios of Australia. The Chancellor was joined by the Very Reverend Father Steven Scoutas, Father Irenaeus Triantis and our Head of College Mrs Amelia Katsogiannis.
The Year 12 students were presented with Greek Orthodox Studies Bible.
Celebrations for the HSC Class of 2022 concluded with a Graduation Dinner for Year 12 students and their parents.
St Euphemia College:
Year 12 students at St Euphemia College in Bankstown in Sydney’s south west were farewelled last week with a number of special events.
Photo: St Euphemia College / Facebook.
Celebrations began with a Doxology officiated by His Grace Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia representing Archbishop Makarios of Australia.
This was followed by a small breakfast for staff and students, as well as an official school assembly where some Year 12s were presented with awards for their academic achievements.
Photo: St Euphemia College / Facebook.
To conclude the celebrations, the College organised a Graduation Dinner for the Year 12 students at the Himalaya Emporium Function Centre in Bankstown.
Several groups pulled out of the commemoration of the 100 years since the Asia Minor Catastrophe at the Australian Hellenic Memorial on Saturday, September 24.
The sunny weather, school holidays, Melbourne’s AFL Grand Final and an even longer public holiday with the addition of the Queen’s Day of Mourning resulted in a depleted attendance, meagre when compared to the 103-year anniversary of the Pontian Genocide at the same memorial last May.
It was timed to coincide with Archbishop Makarios of Australia’s visit to Melbourne. As the first Greek Orthodox church leader to visit the 21-year-old Australian Hellenic War Memorial, the Archbishop received a tour, certificate and was named patron.
Archbishop Makarios was named patron of the memorial.
Other patrons are Greek Consul General Emmanuel Kakavelakis, Victorian RSL State President Dr Robert Webster OAM, John Pandazopoulos, Murray Thompson OAM and Pantelis Kalimnakis OAM, the latter having been pivotal to pushing for the Memorial to be created – the first monument established for a migrant group at the foot of the Shrine of Remembrance.
Steve Kyritsis, Australian Hellenic War Memorial President, gave the Archbishop a tour of the Memorial, steeped in symbolism. One symbol, however, was missing – a cross. Archbishop Makarios asked for one to be added.
“He mentioned it and we will have a discussion with the committee to add a cross to the monument,” Mr Kyritsis told The Greek Herald.
“The fact that the Archbishop is a patron means, as he told me, that he will make every effort when he is in Melbourne to attend the memorial should we have an event. It is an honour.”
Archbishop Makarios said: “Both Australia and Greece gave unselfishly the best and their bravest and it is in this honour that this Memorial has been erected and was unveiled exactly 21 years ago.”
He added the role of the Church in their decision to enter the fields of battle and sacrifice their lives during two World Wars, doing so “willingly and joyously”.
“I pray that we renew our commitment to Christ through the memory of those who followed in his lead and may we pursue a peaceful coexistence in a multicultural society with a shared respect for our cultural diversity,” Archbishop Makarios said.
Mr Kyritsis referred to the ordeals of the Greeks, Armenians, Jews and other nationalities where half a million lost their lives and even more lost their homes, churches, schools and other buildings in fallen Smyrna.
He also remembered the early days of the Memorial when “a group of dedicated people with a lot of passion and a lot of enthusiasm wanted to honour the Anzacs.” It was thanks to their efforts that events such as the anniversary of the destruction of Smyrna have a special place to be commemorated.
Consul General Kakavelakis’ speech was in Greek, an obituary and eulogy for those who died in Asia Minor – a story which he said began with the fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453, but he did say a few words about the Memorial.
Official guests at the event.
“His Eminence describes the significance of this memorial. It is not only a tribute for those fallen in countless battles where Australian and Greeks fell side by side, but it is a contemporary testimony and witness as to how those bonds between the two countries have evolved and have become indelible,” Mr Kakavelakis said before expressing the Greek government’s gratitude for these Greek Australian bonds of today.
Other speakers included Maria Vamvakinou MP representing Anthony Albanese, Nina Taylor MP and David Davis representing Matthew Guy. Kingston Mayor Steve Staikos was present along with other visitors making strong points about Greek history and the bonds that go to the past.
Everyone mentioned the importance of passing the lessons of history onto the younger generation, but there were few youngsters present.
Dressed in a traditional Pontian Costume, Haroula Karapanagiotidi, from Akrites tou Pontou said: “It has become an integral part of our identity and it becomes embedded generation-to-generation. Even though we weren’t there, and our grandparents weren’t there, to honour [the anniversary] is to honour a part of our identity as well.”
Greece’s women’s rugby league team made history on Sunday, September 25 by claiming their first-ever victory against Turkey 8-4 in the European Rugby League competition.
The women’s Euro B (Southern Group) match between Greece and Turkey was held at the Istanbul Technical University Stadium.
The last time the women’s teams met was in Edirne, Turkey in 2019, with Turkey claiming the win 40-4.
This year, only eight of the Greek women who played in the previous encounter were in head coach Stuart McLennan’s squad, but they showed composure and resilience to come out victorious in the end.
Velissaria (Valia) Koutsioumpa made her international debut on the day and scored two tries.
With just a few minutes left in the match and with the score tied at 4-4, Greece’s defensive strategy come to the fore and made for a great and historic game ending.
This victory comes as Greece’s men’s rugby league team also looks set to make history next month as they play in their first ever World Cup.
The Greece men’s squad. Photo: Takis Triadafillou / The Greek Herald.
The 24-player Greek squad for the Rugby League World Cup 2021 is made up of five Australian NRL players, as well as some players from the Australian junior league and eight domestic players from Greece.
They will play their first match against France on October 17 this year at Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster, UK, followed by matches against Samoa and England on October 23 and October 29 respectively.
The Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Christos Karras, has been awarded the Silver Cross of St Andrew the Apostle by Archbishop Makarios of Australia in recognition of his contribution to the local Greek community.
Mr Karras received the award on Friday, September 23 during a vespers service held at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and our Lady of Myrtles in the Sydney suburb of Kogarah.
Mr Karras receiving the cross.
The recognition comes on the occasion of Mr Karras’ imminent completion of his term of office and his departure from Australia.
After honouring Mr Karras with the Silver Cross, Archbishop Makarios addressed the church congregation and praised the Consul General for his contribution to Hellenism in New South Wales, emphasising his response to the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Archbishop Makarios giving a speech.
The Archbishop also mentioned Mr Karras’ good cooperation with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, and expressed his heartfelt thanks to Trade Commissioner, Katia Gkikiza, who will also depart Australia at the end of the month.
Trade Commissioner, Katia Gkikiza (right).
In response, the Consul General thanked Archbishop Makarios for bestowing the award honour on him, and expressed gratitude for the warm relationship he developed both personally with the Archbishop, as well as with all the bishops and clergy of the Archdiocese.
Mr Karras giving a speech.
“It was a joy, honour and privilege to be, for these five years, a member of the Greek Australian community of Sydney and I will continue to feel a member of it for the rest of my life,” Mr Karras concluded.
On Sunday, September 25, the streets of central Sydney echoed to the united voice of the local Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic communities, calling on the Australian government and the international community to stand by the Republic of Armenia as it faces an invasion by Azerbaijan.
Greeks at the march. Photos supplied / Facebook.
The Federation of Pontian Associations of Australia was represented by leaders of the member-associations Pontoxeniteas NSW and Panayia Soumela of Sydney.
The March for Armenians began outside the headquarters of the national broadcaster ABC and concluded at Sydney Town Hall.
Armenian National Committee of Australia Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian, addressed the rally at the end of the March and called for an end to Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia.
Armenian National Committee of Australia Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian.
As stated by genocide scholar and historian, Dr Panayiotis Diamadis, on the day: “Hellenes everywhere stand beside all Armenians because we have an obligation as human beings. In addition, the defence of Hellenism begins in Armenia and Artsakh.”
Armenians at the march.
In December 1918, the Armenian and Greek Relief Committee was formed in the vestibule of the Sydney Town Hall, an Australian effort to provide relief to survivors of the Genocides of the indigenous Armenians, Assyrians and Hellenes of Anatolia and other parts of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
