The Parkes & District Amateur Soccer Association held its Grand Finals at Pioneer Oval last Saturday. It was a great
day of soccer, despite the dust storm turning the sky brown! The winners were U12- Glory; U17- Rangers; B Grade-
Peak Hill All Stars and A Grade- PLC Raptors. Pictured are the Peak Hill All Stars.
The future of soccer in Parkes promises to be exciting with the completion of the refurbishment of the 41-year-old amenities block at Harrison Park Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith, Councillors and representative from the Parkes & District Amateur Soccer Association attended the opening of the new $378,000 project last Thursday.
Harrison Park, home of the Parkes & District Amateur Soccer Association, is considered one of the premier soccer fields in the Central West, but the amenities were in desperate need of refurbishment.
The new facility features two spacious change rooms, eight additional toilets, and additional facilities for disabled/ambulant access. The change rooms provide direct access to shower facilities, which can be closed to the public when required.
The new amenities block has been designed for maximum ventilation while still being sheltered from the weather, and also features a new referee room, and accessible parent change room. Energy and water efficiencies include timed taps and bubbler, LED lighting on timed sensors, and drinking bottle refill stations.
“These upgrades will certainly be a game changer for local soccer. There are more than 500 registered players, as well as spectators and family members who regularly use these facilities, while the Parkes and District Cricket Association also utilise the field,” the Mayor said.
Parkes & District Amateur Soccer Association’s President, Wayne Osborne said the new facilities would give Parkes a competitive edge when bidding to host future sporting events.
“We are looking to apply for some rounds of the Western Youth League, and following that State titles. Councils are really investing in the playing surfaces and sealing work on the car parks, so we will end up with a premier product.”
The works were managed by Parkes Shire Council’s Building and Projects Officer Bart Ingram and delivered by local building contractor Rodney Barnes.
Last Saturday the grand finals of the 2019 Saturday morning netball competition were played in almost spring like conditions. In Division 1 the Tigers were up against the Pumas who came away with the win. The Go Division saw the Pumas and Wildcats battling it out. Pumas were the stronger team claiming the win.
The Parkes High School open girls tennis team came away with a bronze medal at the state finals in Nelson Bay last week.
This is the team’s best performance ever and the team of Hannah and Phoebe Potts, Holly McColl and Maddy McCormick could not be happier with the achievement after all the hard work they had put in. The Parkes High School open boys team also played in the final and ended in fourth place.
Four young Parkes squash players won titles at the Parkes Junior Open last weekend. The event attracted 50 players from all around NSW, ACT, Victoria and even the UK including 16 Parkes players in the mix. Flying the flag for Parkes were Cooper Feldner winner of the under 11 division, Henry Kross won the under 13A division, Holly McColl the under 17B and Lockie Miller the under 17A division.
Parkes Shire Councillor Pat Smith assisted with the presentations.
Last Saturday was a very foggy morning with the smallest members of Parkes Netball, the NET division, having their presentation.
The committee hopes you have had a fun year of Netball and can’t wait for you to come back next year.
Saturday also saw the last general rounds of divisions 1 and Go. With some games ending in a draw or forfeit, this has made the points tally mix up a little with some surprising results.
Semi-finals start this weekend with a reminder to respect all players and officials while on and off the courts. Umpires decisions are final.
Results Division 1:
• Tigers 28 v Pumas 28 – MVP Ella Harbidge and Matayah Guy
• Wildcats forfeit to Panthers
Results Go Division:
• Pumas 10 v Wildcats 5 – MVP Mhairi Wyllie and Grace Dunford
• Tigers 18 v Panthers 16 – MVP Jose Jennings and Sienna Barber