Sports Archives - Page 100 of 118

Dragons Back On The Water

August 17, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

The dragon boating season officially kicks off on Sunday, but a few eager beavers just couldn’t wait another week. Eleven excited paddlers went out and a few squeals were heard as the sweep teasingly steered a little close to the fountain spray on a cold wintry morning.

To start the new season a change of brigade has transpired to carry on the great work of the previous committee. The position of new president was a difficult choice with two outstanding contenders. Votes were fifty-fifty for Bill Thomas and Chris Sweeney, both dedicated and visionary men. Coming down to the wire, the final decision had to be drawn from a hat, with Bill’s name selected.

Chris Sweeney took on the demanding role of secretary. Michael Green continues on as treasurer, Kristine Dobell as registrar and Ian Prince remains equipment officer. Other new board members, Liz Mitchell and Beth Thomas took on the roles of grants officer and publicity officer respectively.

As Carmen Stephens has carried out the coach’s position with such aplomb, it was unanimously decided by the new
board to continue with Carmen as head coach. Assistant coach is Warren Edwards. New paddlers are always most
welcome. Contact Bill or Beth on 0418 253 045 or Chris Sweeney on 0414 762 775.
By Beth Thomas

Tennis On The Other Side Of The World

August 17, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Three Parkes junior tennis players spent a month in the US with their coach Helen Magill last month. Ben Evans (14), Abbey Kennedy (13) and Jake Magill (15) answered some questions reflecting on the trip of a lifetime.

What did you like about life in the US?
Jake: I liked the food, how cheap food and clothes are and the big cities. For the tennis I liked playing and training on hardcourts the whole time because we don’t get to play on them much.
Abby: Everything is on a grand scale. The shopping centres and food outlets are streets long. There were so many choices on every menu. I couldn’t believe how many ways you could have a baked potato. I liked how they had so many facilities available like public parks that had tennis courts. I couldn’t believe they had gun shops the size of department stores. The tennis universities on the other hand were amazing.
Ben: The facilities, staying with my host families and learning about how they live.

How did the trip benefit your tennis?
Ben: Playing in different conditions, court surfaces and the ideas from the coaches helped me think more about changing my game to suit each situation.
Abby: I could never have imagined how much my tennis would improve.

What did you learn about yourself?
Ben: How much further I can push myself and my body.
Jake: That I can get around airports and cities by myself. That I was able to prepare myself for matches and make sure I stayed healthy.
What are the biggest differences between playing tennis in Australia and playing tennis in the US?
Jake: They play on hardcourts the whole time, while we train on synthetic grass and play on clay and hardcourts sometimes for tournaments. The tennis clubs are a lot bigger in the States.

What will you always remember about the trip?
Jake: The host families that looked after us extremely well. They were very nice. The new friendships I made with some of the USA kids.
Abby: Absolutely everything. All the lovely people I met along the way and the amazing friends I made with other tennis players on the tour. The host families who treated us like royalty. I was gobsmacked with the tennis centres and the facilities. It was an amazing opportunity to play against players from another country and in conditions so
extreme. Disneyland and Universal Studios were amazing and I will always remember the laughs Helen, Jake, Ben and I shared. I loved our visit to Alcatraz and our bike ride across the golden gate bridge in San Francisco. Every day was amazing and brought with it another life-long memory.

Footy Tipping Results Round 23

August 16, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Megan Powers Her Way Into Top 10

August 10, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Former Parkes local Megan Hinchley competed at the 2017 World Powerlifting Championships in Minsk Belarus last month and was placed 10th in the world in her class. Weighing just 51.46kg, Megan went on to squat 122.5kg, bench press 67.5kg and deadlift 147.5kg, placing her 10th in the 52kg weight class. This was Megan’s fourth international level competition, competing for Australia and her second world championships. Her next focus is the Australian Championships in Melbourne in October.

Parkes Struggle Against Leaders Of Blowes Cup

August 10, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Parkes started well and matched the intensity of the Orange Emus, but it did not take long for the polished Emus to show why they were clear leaders in the Blowes Cup competition winning 75 – 5.

Parkes had several new players and a few old hands in new positions against a team that showed the benefit of a season of stability and depth. The Boars played as well as they could but the Emus defended fiercely whenever the Boars attacked and were particularly good at the breakdowns using their large loose forwards to deny Parkes of possession.

Parkes defence was solid, and as the Emus had much of the possession Parkes were forced to defend most of the game. Joe Nash had a great game and scored a brilliant try twisting out of two tackles and beating a desperate tackle by Emus Nigel Staniforth to get over the line. Dan Ryan got over the line but was held up by a dogged Emus defence.

Leo Llalio was one of the best for the Boars and matched up to the big Emus pack making plenty of metres up the centre with charging runs into the Emus defence. Ben Powaly in the centres did a massive amount of defence and combined with Dan Ryan to put on some great moves to slice through the Emus defence.

No one in the Boars side worked harder than Toby Baigent who ran on at no.8 and has been one of the Boars best and most consistent all season.

By Allan Ryan

Footy Tipping Results Round 22

August 8, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Bowls Club Triples Winners

August 3, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

The winners of the Parkes Women’s Bowling Club Championship Triples are Gwenda Carty, Rhona Went and Cherie Frame. They played Merilyn Rodgers, Marja Iffland and Maree Grant on Tuesday in a very closely contested game with the final score 16-13.

Parkes Hockey Sticks With State Title Third Time

August 3, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Parkes and hockey almost became synonyms last weekend at the Women’s Masters Southern State Hockey Championships. Bringing 61 teams with over 1,000 players to town, it was time for Parkes to shine. And sparkle we did – not only was the event hailed as a huge success, two teams were crowned as state champions, and it was a
very special occasion for a Parkes mum and her three daughters.

Parkes 1 became state champions for a third consecutive year after defeating Newcastle 1-0 in the final on Sunday afternoon. Parkes 3 was named joint champions with Goulburn 2 after a 0-0 draw in the final. For Fran Dixon and her three daughters, Kylie Butler, Deanna Dollery and Tracy Hambridge it was a very special occasion. All four played for Parkes 2 for the second year at the tournament. “This year is more special because it is at home,” said Fran.

The three daughters had travelled from Port Macquarie, Orange and Canberra respectively to play with Mum. “It is a fantastic opportunity for us to do this,” said Kylie Fran said although the state tournaments were usually very competitive, she loved the camaraderie and meeting up with friends every year. “It is also great to see all the junior girls I used to coach now playing in this tournament.

With another milestone coming up next year when she turns 70, Fran was not daunted by the fact she had to play six games over the three days of the tournament.

Bulldogs Way Too Strong For Boars

August 3, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Parkes travelled to Bathurst last weekend to face the Bulldogs. An early lead after a try under the posts by Joe Nash and conversion by James Dean, was unfortunately not a sign of things to come.

After a few unyielding phases of play the Bulldogs moved the ball wide and began their scoring. Parkes looked good in attack with solid performances from forwards Sam Dension and Dylan Hood, but were unable to match the Bulldogs with their intensity.

Great defence by the utility forward Jason Lowe provided some of the biggest tackles of the day. The Bulldogs had an excellent display scoring nine tries until a 46m penalty goal from James Dean, which was a highlight for the Boars.
The second half was all Bulldogs with four more tries until Jonny Rathbone swooped on a loose ball to send Joe Nash over the try line and conversion by James Dean.

Despite another six tries scored by the Bulldogs, the Parkes players remained committed to provide a full eighty minute game with a final result of 123 to 17. The Boars can hold their heads high as they never gave up and played with unrelenting determination until the final whistle.

COLTS
A struggling Boars Colts could only field 13 players against the Bathurst Bulldogs with four under 17 players. Right from the kick-off the Bulldogs went on the attack with tries coming at a regular pace from a much bigger and more experienced team.

The Bulldogs played structured rugby with their forwards moving up the park before moving the ball wide and using their pace to out class the Boars to make the half time score 48 – 0. The second half saw the Boars defence lift when Jarrod Westcott, Jason Lowe and Alex McHugh-Douglas lead the forwards in attack resulting in a penalty. James Sellings deciding to attempt a shot at goal from the 40m mark to give the Boars their first points.

After a kick-off, Chris Selling gathered a loose ball to race 46m to score a well-deserved try for the Boars out wide. The final score was 53 to 8.

By Jake Elliott

Footy Tip Results Round 21

August 1, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

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