The 26th Maronite Sports Day brought together about 1,200 young people from nine parishes on Easter Monday.
Across the day, which was held in Bankstown, NSW, 756 players competed in eight sporting competitions, including basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer, outdoor soccer, and AusTag.
Rachelle Mazraani, chair of Maronite Youth, says the scale of the event depends heavily on preparation in the weeks leading up to it.
“We had representatives from each parish meeting every week through Lent,” she says. “It was about six weeks of meetings just to make the day possible.”
That preparation included volunteers handling registrations, coordination between teams, and around 30 on the day managing logistics, food, and scheduling.
The event continues to draw participants from across New South Wales and interstate. This year, about20 people travelled from Brisbane and Melbourne. Rachelle says it is the first step toward broader participation from Adelaide, Perth and New Zealand in future years.
Before every match, a leader brings both teams together for a short prayer. Rachelle says the intention is to keep competition grounded in respect.
“The competitive spirit can get high,” she says. “But we encourage them to compete with passion, respect and humility.”
She says the focus is not only on winning but on how teams carry themselves through the day.
“The competition should build each other up, not tear each other down,” she says.
“Everyone wants to win. But the bigger victory is the community.”
In 2026, Our Lady of Lebanon Parish, Harris Park won the overall trophy for the first time in the event’s 26-year history. The result was acknowledged across the community, with celebrations continuing the following week at the parish and attended by members from other parishes.
Rachelle says the response reflects the wider culture of the event.
“We are the Maronite community,” she says. “That is the mentality we want to continue. Not my parish, but our community.”
Maronite Sports Day remains one of the major annual youth gatherings for the Maronite community in Australia, combining sport and faith. It is supported by parish volunteers, youth representatives and clergy, including Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay OLM.
Images: Supplied
Words: Qwayne Guevara