After last year’s COVID cancellation, the return of the Parkes Picnic Races last Saturday was not only a great day out for punters and lovers of fashion, but also provided a great day of races.

The Parkes Coradgery Diggers Races were in good form with some fabulous wins on the track.

The feature race, The Parkes Services Coradgery Cup was won by George Two trained by J Rolfe and ridden by M Travers.

The Broadway Hotel Maiden Plate was won by Superior Power, trained by local Sharon Jeffries and ridden by A Banks.

The Agriwest Maiden Handicap was won by Miss Monte again trained by Sharon Jeffries, and ridden by A Banks.

The Power Tools Plus 1200m was won by Say Madam trained by A Stanley and ridden by K Bell-Pitomac.

The Telescope Tyres and Batteries 100m was won by Streets of Suemori trained by K Hazelton and ridden by K Bell-Pitomac.

Committee member Stafford Orange thanked all the sponsors who contributed so generously to the event. “We are so grateful for all your support in ensuring a fantastic prize pool.”

 

Lake Endeavour was turned into a feast of colour and fun in perfect autumn weather on Sunday when the Parkes Endeavour Dragon Club hosted its very first regatta.

Seven clubs in the Central West from Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, Forbes, Dubbo, two from Orange and Parkes combined into teams to compete in the 13 races on the day over 2km and 200m.

The Endeavour Dragons paddled their hearts out and managed a first place and three third places.

The club also celebrated its third anniversary and the newly completed shade shelter was officially opened by Phil Donato MP, while Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith, Cr Bill Jayet and many community members joined in the celebrations on the day, including a come and try session for newcomers to have a go at the sport.

The Parkes Croquet Club is well underway, leaping from infancy to establishment in one bound. A visit from Jim Nicholls, croquet expert and chair of Croquet Australia, was an exciting event for the young club on their third ever game.

‘Playing different variations of croquet and rearranging your court spaces will allow you to cater for a lot more players and keep their interest,’ Jim advised.

Jim provided lots of valuable information on how to keep the ever-growing number of participants engaged, as well as giving players some professional coaching tips on croquet techniques.

Matches are on Saturdays from 2:30pm at the futsal court, PBSC Cecile Street.

Parkes Services Squash Centre hosted one of the biggest squash tournaments in NSW and possibly Australia last weekend.

Almost 200 players and 50 teams from all over NSW and the ACT contested the event, with Parkes taking out the top grades in both the men’s and women’s top divisions. The 30 local players competing across the grades did their town proud.

The event came to Parkes after Dave Fuller, who ran the Orange Intertown for over 40 years, sadly lost his battle with cancer last year. Dave’s son Nathan Fuller asked Jay and Judy Kross from Parkes to take on the event. The high numbers meant they had to hire the Forbes courts for the weekend and took over the Parkes Services Club carpark to accommodate everyone.

The tournament consisted of teams of four players across A, B, C and D grades, and attracted some very talented athletes, including current professional tour players David Clegg and Jennifer Condie, former Australian player and world number 64 Simon Carruthers, Australian Masters squash and indoor cricket representative Peter Bastow, former national champion Jesse Keegan, as well as local stars NSW title holder Lockie Miller, and NSW and Australian Champion Henry Kross.

Peter Bastow, who had come back to squash after a 19-year break, said he tried to play as many events as possible. “I did not know what to expect in Parkes coming here for the first time, but I was pleasantly surprised.”

Simon Carruthers said it was good to get out of Sydney. “It is great to see the squash community get behind Dave Fuller.”

Dave’s son Nathan was on hand to assist with the presentations and asked Parkes to host the event in 2022 again after the success this year.

Results – Men’s A: Parkes; Ladies A: Parkes; Men’s B: Wagga; Ladies B: Wyong; Men’s C: Springwood; Ladies C: Forbes; Men’s D: Crookwell; Ladies D: Dubbo.

Parkes Services Squash Centre is hosting the Dave Fuller Intertown Teams Squash event this weekend in Parkes and Forbes. The event is in memory of squash identity Dave Fuller, who ran the intertown squash event for around 40 years and passed away last year after a long fight with cancer.

This year’s tournament will be one of the biggest in the event’s history with almost 200 players from around NSW and ACT attending, with the Parkes club having to hire the Forbes courts to accommodate the numbers.

Dave’s son is travelling up from Wyong, while Professional Squash Tour player David Clegg will come from Sydney. Australian Masters squash and cricket player Peter Bastow and local current National Under 11 Champion Henry Kross will also be playing.