The inaugural Southern District SECA Chess Tournament was held at St Augustine’s College on the Thursday 3 June 2021. St Augustine's College ended up winning school competition with 11 points and McAuley College coming second wi​th 8 points. This tournament was possible with encouragement from Sports Leader Mr Stephen Undery & Mr Odyn McInnes, thanks to Mr Michael Burchett who organised the tournament​ for all the year levels competing in Chess for their SECA sport. It was then approved by the SECA committee and a perpetual shield will be presented to the winning school and pennants given to Age Champions. 

Mr Burchett introduced clocks in this tournament, as it is the only fair way to make sure students are not taking too much of the allotted time for each game. The 2 top students in each age group from each school competed in a round robin with the top 4 players then played semi-finals, leading to finals in each age group. St Augustine's College had one Age Champion, two second places and three thirds. Under 15 was our strongest group with Cooper Watts being the Age Champion and Christian Morgan coming second. Mr Burchett said “I am so proud of our students, the way they competed in this event was a credit to the school. They played as individuals but were victorious as a team. Students who play chess are able to develop better critical thinking and problem-solving skills. I wish more students had an interest in chess however for a school that doesn't compete in external events like our competition, we did very well.” ​

Watch the finals Under 15 match below:​

​​​​© Brisbane Catholic Education, St Augustine’s College (2021)