PARKES PUBLIC SCHOOL
On Tuesday the Public School netball team got ready to face off against Forbes Public School in the PSSA Knockout competition. The students have trained very hard and put in 110% effort at all times during the game. Although the team weren’t first past the post, going down 10-1, they all took away improvements to their game and actually managed to draw the second half of the game with the opposition. The school are very proud of the effort and sportsmanship the students showed and thought they were great ambassadors for Parkes Public School.

PARKES PCYC
PCYC will hold thier annual ‘time for kids’ fundraiser on the 16th April. The fundraiser will begin at 9am and end at 12pm and is located between Target and Coles. For anyone interested in raising money for a great cause please give the club a call on 6862 3825 or nominate someone to do time in a ‘mock-cell’ to raise money. The PCYC will also be having a bowls night at the Town Bowling Club beginning at 4pm until 8.30pm. Teams of four at $10 per player
and anyone wishing to watch is welcome.

PARKES EAST PUBLIC SCHOOL
Congratulations to all students who participated in the School Cross Country Carnival on Friday. Results are as follows:

5 Years Boys: 1st Cooper Kelly, 2nd Ethan Reeves, 3rd Kye Kinsella.
5 Years Girls: 1st Olivia Milligan, 2nd Daisy Larsen, 3rd Charlotte Layton.
6 Years Boys: 1st Max Murphy, 2nd Henry Kross, 3rd Matthew Goulthorpe.
6 Years Girls: 1st Quinn Kriedemann, 2nd Heidi Charlton, 3rd Ayesha Carruthers
7 Years Boys: 1st Tom Rix, 2nd Toby Thornberry, 3rd Jayden Kuun.
7 Years Girls: 1st Millie Bayliss-Cox, 2nd Lilly Gosper, 3rd Olivia Chambers.
8 Years Boys: 1st Brody Beuzeville, 2nd Harry Turner, 3rd Aksel Carroll.
8 Years Girls: 1st Daisy Dawson, 2nd Grace Dunford, 3rd Paige Reeves.
9 Years Boys: 1st Jack Milne, 2nd Alexander Chambers, 3rd Eli Constable.
9 Years Girls: 1st Abol Annai, 2nd Elly Thornberry, 3rd Chloe Murphy.
10 Years Boys: 1st Fraser Beaton, 2nd Dustin James, 3rd Charlie Dawson.
10 Years Girls: 1st Makayla Sloane, 2nd Shailey Butt, 3rd Madeline Blackstock.
11 Years Boys: (TIED) 1st Jackson Plummer & 1st Archie Rix, 3rd Braith Murray.
11 Years Girls: 1st Bria Constable, 2nd Mary Sladden, 3rd Georgia Hawken.
12/13 Years Boys: (TIED) 1st Harry Bayliss, 1st Mason Bayliss-Cox, 3rd Jasper Moore.
12/13 Years Girls: 1st Jordyn Murphy, 2nd Nia Boggs, 3rd Trudy Richardson.

A big thanks also goes to the parents and carers who were able to come along to the event, cheering on the students and assisting with the co-ordination of the event.

SOCCER
On Thursday, as part of the Football NSW Roadshow in Lachlan Association, FNSW staff Oscar Gonzalez and Andrew Fearnley were at Harrison Park in Parkes. Oscar Gonzalez (Coach Education Manager) ran a coaches workshop on skill training and game training using an under 14 squad and also ran under 9s and under 13s sessions. Details on how the sessions went will be available courtesy of Andrew in next week’s edition.

PARKES BOARS RUGBY UNION
The Boars are calling to anyone with information about a First Aid Kit that has gone missing from the container at Spicer Oval. If anyone is able to assist or knows of its whereabouts please call 0422 667 379. The First Aid Kit looks similar to the photo below.

Six members competed from 700 yards last Saturday at the Eugowra Rifle Range. With many members shooting elsewhere for the Easter holiday weekend, those few in attendance were confronted with some very challenging conditions. The wind was continually changing in strength and direction and at times was much too fast for competitors to adjust. This was reflected in the scores which were abnormally low.

Results were as follows;
F Class (telescopic sights, with rest) total possible score 120: Alistair Kable 52.5, 55.2 – 107.7; Jim Maloy 44.0, 53.1 – 97.1 Alan Noble 46.0, 49.3 – 95.3; David Budd 45.0, 28.0 – 73.0.

Full-Bore (open peep sights with sling off elbows) total possible score 100: David Jolly 45.1, 46.3 – 91.4; Jan Bray 46.2, 45.2 – 91.4.

This year the club has acquired electronic targets courtesy of the Orange Rifle Club, who were forced to relocate after their range was closed due to the routing of the new southern distributor. The new targets have brought several
advantages to members. Shooting can be completed more quickly as there is no need to wait for the target to be marked manually, this now happens electronically and is transmitted wirelessly to the mound pretty much instantaneously. As there is no need for members to mark targets in the ‘pits’ and rotate throughout the afternoon, this results in a considerable saving in time and labour. The club currently have two targets which are more than enough for up to 20 competitors during a normal Saturday competition. The club hopes to obtain
an additional two targets which will bring their total to 4 to accommodate additional shooters when they hold their annual prize meeting competitions for up to 50 competitors.

The club would like to extend an invitation to all Full-Bore and Scoped shooters to come and try the new electronic targets. The club shoots at ‘Sunnyside’ just south east of the Eugowra village. Members compete at ranges starting at 300 yards and extending to 800 yards every Saturday commencing at 1.30pm.

This weekend the final range of Round 1 will be 800 yards and shooters will return to 300 yards for the commencement of round 2 the following weekend.

Northparkes Mine and the Parkes Sports Council have announced the successful applicants from the first round of the Sports Grants Funding Programme for 2016. Successful applicants included:

Parkes Tennis Club received $6000 towards an undercover outdoor coaching area.
Parkes Golf Club received $3000 for the supply and installation of 13 ladies tee signs.
Parkes Junior Hockey received $2975 for the purchase of goalie kits.
PCYC Gymnastics received $5240 for the purchase of a gymnastics harness.
Peak Hill Swimming Club received $2000 towards the purchase of embroidered towels and installation of shelving.
Parkes Bowling and Sports Club received $2000 towards the purchase of 4 sets of kids’ bowls.

Sports Grants Committee Chairman, Alan Gersbach, expressed his delight that a good selection of projects were received for this round and that most of them received a piece of the funding pie, which is provided annually by Northparkes Mine. Elysha Loiterton, Northparkes Community and External Relations Officer also stated that Northparkes Mine was pleased to be associated with the successful program, which is now in its fourth year. “ I would like to thank all the organisations that have applied for the grants” she said. She also stated that she was pleased that Northparkes Mine was able to assist these projects. In total $21,215 in grants were distributed and the next round of grants will open in June this year, with a total of $12,550 available to be given to the community.

Two new teams took first and second place at Australia’s one and only indoor marbles championships held in Parkes last Friday. Balls Deep surprised everyone by taking the honours in the 32nd year of the competition, with the Gootons coming second.

Eight teams entered for the Australian Indoor Marbles Championships at the Parkes Golf Club and competed in round matches and final eliminations. The aim of the night is to not only carry on a tradition that started with the celebration of the Parkes centenary, but for the team members and spectators to have fun too. In addition, Can Assist benefits from this quirky tradition, with almost $1000 raised from team entries and raffle ticket sales. Organiser
of the event Paul Thomas said the idea of playing indoor marbles was first tried out with the centenary celebrations. “It has now become a time honoured event and a fixed item on the Parkes yearly calendar, and forms part of the NSW Government tourism attractions.”

Teams have travelled from as far as Sydney to compete in previous competitions. Paul explained that the game
had to be altered slightly from the oncepopular childhood game when the aim was to knock marbles into a hole. “Playing it indoors meant we changed it to knocking the marbles out of a ring.” Each player uses a ‘Tom’ and the idea is to knock the smaller marbles out of the centre of the ring. The four players in each team take a turn and they keep on playing until all the marbles are knocked out of the middle. The one with the most marbles at the end is the winner.

Peter Magill of Griffins Leading Edge, the major sponsor, said it was a good night with a new team winning the title.

17 clubs, 285 players and as many spectators were present at Tom Clyburn Oval in Canowindra on Saturday to attempt to win the Western Challenge League Tag trophy. The Parkes Space Cats were keen to impress this year against some stiff competition from Orange CYMS , Bathurst St Pats and Orange Hawks, all previous winners.

The Space Cats were placed in pool A alongside Eugowra Golden Eagles, Lithgow Workies and Canowindra Tigresses. In their first match the Space Cats purred their way to victory, defeating Eugowra Golden Eagles 20-0. Their second game was more difficult but the Space Cats again came away with the win against the Canowindra Tigresses, 8-6. It was third time lucky against the Lithgow Workies as the Parkes ladies again had a convincing win, 14-4.

In the semi-final Parkes Space Cats faced off against Bathurst St Pats and although they showed great skill St Pats secured the win 10-2. The final saw Bathurst St Pats head off against Orange Hawks. Hawks had looked sensational all day but just couldn’t crack St Pats in the decider and Bathurst were crowned the winners with a 4-0 victory.

The Parkes team did extremely well to make it to the semis and Sally Dwyer made a huge amount of tags. Space Cat Ell Harris was also recognised as one of the top 5 players in the tournament, well done Ell.

Player of the tournament was awarded to Mish Somers from St Pats. A special mention goes to the referees who had extremely high standards and gave their time on the day. The standard of League Tag in the Western Region is improving every season and all teams should be congratulated.

Parkes Golf Club will once again be the venue for this Friday’s Australian Indoor Marbles Championships with Griffins Leading Edge once again the major sponsor. The championships will kick off at 7pm and teams will compete in round matches and final eliminations to determine the 2016 Australian Indoor Marbles Champion team.

Defending Champions ‘Money Shots’ will once again be the team to beat and if training and practice have anything to do with results the defending titleholders will be one of the favourites. However, last year’s runners up the ‘Bull Sharks’ surprised everyone with their talent and ability last year so it could be anyone’s game. Other teams
that could excel include former champions ‘Lords of the Rink’, ‘Ball Throwers’, ‘Langlands Longhorns’ and the ‘GLE Techspurts’ with the food service central team ‘All Stars’ out to redeem themselves after last year’s debacle of sacking their manager.

Other teams likely to challenge in the exciting evening will be the Parkes Tourism girls capably led by Captain Katrina Dwyer. Organisers of this year’s event are expecting a larger than normal field to contest the title. Parkes Golf Club House President, Ross Smith, stated that his board of directors were behind the event and congratulated everyone for their dedication. “This is now one of the premier events of the town and clubs social calendar” he said, “for patrons who do not wish to play the entertainment value is second to none.” Mr Smith also
praised long time sponsor Griffins Leading Edge for their support and commitment to the championships, notably the tireless work put in by their Managing Director, Peter Magill. Teams will consist of four players with female team members awarded with a one marble start. Team registration is $40 with all proceeds going towards the Parkes branch of Can Assist.

There will also be prize money up for grabs for the winning and best dressed teams and food will be available from the club snack bar.