History
The Christian Schools Sports Network (CSSN) was established in 2008 to serve Christian Schools.
Prior to the establishment of CSSN Victorian Christian Schools met together for Athletics and Swimming competitions in Maryborough each March on the local oval and at the local swimming pool. There was a need for a more formal, elite competition that reached more Christian Schools to select teams for the National Christian School Sports (NCSS).
In 2008, twenty two member schools participated in Primary Cross Country, Secondary Athletics, Secondary Swimming and Secondary Cross Country.
The founding members of CSSN were:
Ballarat Christian College
Chairo Christian College – Drouin
Creek Street Christian College
Flinders Christian Community College – Tyabb
Hillcrest Christian College
Maranatha Christian School – Endeavour Hills
Mt Carmel Christian College
Victory Christian College
Bairnsdale Christian College
Chairo Christian College – Pakenham
Flinders Christian Community College – Carrum Downs
Heatherton Christian College
Kings College
Melton Christian College
Northside Christian College
Waverley Christian College – Wantirna South
Belgrave Heights Christian School
Covenant College
Flinders Christian Community College – Latrobe
Henderson College
Lighthouse Christian College
Mildura Christian College
Shepparton Christian College
At the end of 2008, Bairnsdale, Henderson, Mildura and Shepparton withdrew from CSSN due to distance from Melbourne where the major carnivals were conducted.
Heathdale Christian College joined CSSN at the start of 2009. A weekly sport competition was introduced for schools in south east Melbourne, along with Senior Rally Days, that were well attended. Both Primary Athletics and Primary Swimming were held for the first time.
At the end of 2009, Flinders Tyabb withdrew from CSSN.
Weekly Sport changed to fortnightly sport in 2010 at the request of schools, with a further change in 2021 to semester sport.
Kerang joined CSSN at the start of 2010. Waverley (Narre Warren campus) along with Maranatha (Cardinia campus) joined CSSN in 2013.
In 2013, cultural activities were introduced to the CSSN annual program. Chess, Debating, Theatre Sports and Play in A Day were conducted in response to schools requests. 2014 saw the introduction of Mastercook, following on from the success of similar television programs.
St Andrews Christian College joined CSSN at the beginning of 2014, bringing the membership to twenty two schools. The other significant development for the year was the CSSN website. This advance has seen the ease of information distribution to schools.
Red Rock Christian College and River City Christian College joined in 2015. Music was introduced into the program.
In 2016, Christian Schools Sports Network changed it’s name to Christian Schools Events Network (CSEN) to recognise the cultural events that form part of the network and a new logo was adopted after a competition among schools. Rivercrest Christian College became members of CSEN.
Edinburgh College became members in 2020 before covid 19 hit and the majority of events were cancelled due to the pandemic. Debating, Masterminds, Play in a Day and Word Play were converted to an online format.
Heritage College, Mt Evelyn and Heathdale Melton were admitted to membership in 2021. Events continued to be impacted by the pandemic, although eSports and Robotics were run for the first time as additions to the sports and cultural program. At the end of 2021, Kings College withdrew membership due to geographical distance from events.
Wyndham was admitted to membership in 2022 and River City, Creek Street and Melton withdrew their membership.
Major Carnival and Cultural Event Champions
Membership