The Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS) are a group of eleven independent schools in Victoria, Australia, similar to the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales in New South Wales and the Public Schools Association in Western Australia. The descriptor 'Public School' references the historical usage of the term and the model of the British public school. The first meet of Public Schools Sports was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 30 November 1870 with Melbourne Grammar School, Scotch College and Wesley College competing and winning that order. The Association was established in 1908 so that students of the member schools may compete against each other on the sporting fields, the original competition sports were Australian Rules Football, Athletics, Rowing and Cricket. Students now compete in a variety of sports, which are split into three seasons, Summer, Winter and Spring. Students in Year 7 and above compete on Saturdays and students in primary year levels compete on Wednesday afternoons. Major annual competitions include the APS Head of the River Rowing Regattas, the APS Combined Swimming & Diving Championships and the APS Combined Athletics Championships. In March 2005, the APS member schools formed a set of guidelines regarding the awarding of sporting scholarships to students, following criticism of recruiting practices employed by some schools. The headquarters of the APS is known as APS House and is located on Church Street in Hawthorn, Victoria. Schools Current member schools Sports Boys Athletics Australian Rules Football Stand Up Paddle Boarding Badminton Basketball Cricket Cross Country Diving (since 2015) Futsal European Handball Gymnastics Hockey Rowing Rugby (VSRU runs this competition) Sailing Soccer Squash Swimming & Diving (combined with Diving from 1998 to 2015) Table Tennis Tennis Volleyball Water Polo Girls Athletics Australian Rules Football (since 2019) Badminton Basketball Cross Country Diving (since 2015) Gymnastics Hockey Netball Rowing Soccer Softball Swimming & Diving (combined with Diving from 1998 to 2015) Tennis Touch Football (since 2017) Volleyball Water Polo Combined Sports Students from the Association's member schools participate in a number of Combined Sports (Championship Carnivals) during the year including Swimming, Diving, Rowing and Athletics. The APS Regatta (Heads of the River) The Victorian Head of the River race is contested between the 11 APS schools, the race is usually the last race of the official APS rowing season and has recently been rowed on Lake Nagambie which is a full