The Stephanie Scott Memorial Shield competition was held recently

Stephanie was a teacher at Leeton High School and a talented sportswoman.

Tragically, she was killed in horrific circumstances in April, 2015.

However, the way in which she lived her life continues to shine through.

Every year in her honour the Stephanie Scott Memorial Shield competition is held as part of the Bill Turner Football Cup and Trophy fixture.

In 2022, this school soccer event, the sport Stephanie loved to play, took place in Hillston with four Leeton teams taking part.

At the start of the day, former Leeton High School teacher Martin Maley conducted a ceremony to honour Stephanie's memory and commemorate the values she lived by and reiterated her ethos of friendship.

Maley, who worked with Stephanie at Leeton High, had players from all the participating schools - Hillston Central, Leeton High and St Francis Leeton - form a circle.

"When I think about my mate Steph, I think about a person who was a dedicated teacher and a dedicated sportsperson," Maley said.

"She showed how as individuals we can be involved in and committed to more than one thing in our life at a time.

"You can be a committed teacher, police officer, electrician, lawyer, nurse, or student and also a dedicated sportsperson."

Afterwards Maley asked players to walk around and shake hands with students from other schools in a gesture of friendship and inclusion in memory of Stephanie and her love of bringing everyone together.

Apart from having coached the Bill Turner Trophy (girls) teams for Leeton High and playing for Leeton United, Stephanie had also started a women's team for Tolland Football Club while studying at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.

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After a great day 's competition, with fun and friendship being the theme, organised by Hillston 's Robin Bartholomew, St Francis College in Leeton won both the shield and trophy on the day.

However, all players acknowledged the results mattered little, rather they enjoyed playing and competing while being good sportspeople in the process.

Caps were awarded to Jessica Curran and Jacob Serafin, both from St Francis College as best and fairest on the day.

Participants and schools thanked everyone involved for organising the day and are already looking forward to next year's competition.

Splashes of yellow, Stephanie's favourite colour, also featured prominently around the grounds on the day.

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