Sports – Page 3

Personal Bests Galore At Club Night

November 1, 2019 By editor

It’s still very early in the season but last Thursday over 60 Parkes Sharks swimmers took part in club night with many achieving personal best times. Backstroke was the 200m event, butterfly and breaststroke were over 25 or 50m, and freestyle and back-stroke over 25, 50 or 100m.

Out of 244 entries, 97 personal best times were achieved, with Lachlan MacGregor taking a whopping 24 seconds off his time for the 50m backstroke. Other notable performers were Hayden and Will Lamond who had seven personal bests between them, and Charlie and Meg Mahon who also achieved seven personal bests.

Sienna Danaher, Anna Davis and Fletcher Hall swam their first time trial.

Last Sunday, four club members swam at the Orana Aquatic Qualifying meet in Dubbo. Matty Price came first in the seven events he entered, and achieved personal best times in six of them.

His brother Blake finished well in six events earning four personal best times, whilst Connie Fryer and Meg Skinner also achieved personal bests in their events.

The Sharks club will hold its first family fun night on Friday, 8th November at the Parkes Golf Club.

By Jay Quince

Flowers On The Water At Pink Paddle

November 1, 2019 By editor

HONOUR… Parkes Dragon Boat Club members took part in Dragons Abreast Australia’s Flowers on the Water ceremony by spreading out rose petals on Lake Endeavour on Sunday.

It is not every day you would see a top hat in a dragon boat, let alone a bright pink one, but on Sunday the Parkes Dragon Boat Club (PDBC) members turned on the pink for a very special day.

The club signed up for Pink Up Parkes and organised a Pink Paddle with members giving their creative dress sense free reign. There were all kinds of pink hats, ties with t-shirts, a party of pink tutus and even suspenders worn over a life jacket!

The fun day was balanced with the beautiful Flowers on the Water ceremony per- formed by Dragons Abreast representative from Orange Pearl Butcher.

It is a very special ceremony conducted by members of Dragons Abreast Australia to honour those who have, and are continuing to travel, the path of a breast cancer diagnosis, as well as remembering those who have lost their battle.

Dragons Abreast Australia is a national organisation comprised of breast cancer survivors of various ages who provide a “face” for the breast cancer statistics whilst spreading the message of awareness through participation in the wonderful sport of dragon boat racing.

“I would like to thank all our members for getting into the spirit of the event,” said PDBC President Bill Thomas. “The Flowers on the Water ceremony was a reminder that all of us have been or will be touched by cancer.”

Club members also organised a pink morning tea and a pink lamington drive to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. Almost $300 was raised and handed over to Carolyn Rice of the Pink Up Parkes Committee who attended the event.

She thanked the club for their effort and praised the community of Parkes for their enthusiasm and support for Pink Up Parkes. “Our aim was to raise $20,000 and we have achieved that already, and might even get to $30,000,” she said.

Tennis Volunteers Are Finalists

October 11, 2019 By editor

Brendon Hunt and Phoebe Potts

Two members of the Parkes Tennis Club have been announced as finalists in the 2019 Tennis NSW Awards.

Brendon Hunt and Phoebe Potts are finalists in two volunteer categories. Brendon has played an integral part in developing the online platforms for the Parkes Tennis Club over the past year. He has also helped with the website, online registrations and Book-A-Court in addition to carrying out the treasurer’s role.

Phoebe has shown what an amazing role model she is to younger girls and boys and generously gives her time to support club

events, and when she is not on the tennis court she is working on completing her HSC.

The winners will be announced on 24th October at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney with Jelena Dokic as special guest speaker. Other tennis legends attending include Sam Groth, Ken Rosewall, Bill and Lesley Bowrey and many more!

Good luck to Brendon and Phoebe!

• Pink Up Parkes: Remember to support the Parkes Tennis Club Family Event on 18th October from 6 – 8:30pm.

Top Netballer At Parkes East

October 4, 2019 By editor

Abbey McCulloch with Byron Tanswell and Patrick McPherson who collected certificates for Class 3/4F.

Parkes East ended term 3 on a sporting note with a visit by an Australian netballer and captain of the Sydney Swifts visiting last Friday.

Abbey McCulloch visited the school as part of the Premier’s Sports Challenge program that encourages children and the staff to be physically active and eating healthy foods.

Abbey addressed the whole school and spoke about her experiences as a professional athlete and the importance of resilience and never giving up. She handed over certificates based on how many hours of physical activity participants do each week. Most children and staff finished in the Gold and Diamond levels, the two highest levels.

Dive Right Into Swim Season Tomorrow!

October 4, 2019 By editor

EARLY SWIM… Parkes swimmers Matt and Blake Price and Clara Rice improved on their best times from last season in an early developmental carnival in Orange last Sunday.

The swimming season kicks off tomorrow (Saturday) with the opening of the Parkes pool for the next six months.

The Parkes Sharks Swimming Club will have a registration day tomorrow from 10am to 12 noon with club coaches on hand to assess new entrants.

Orders for new swimming costumes will also be taken. Training for club members will begin on Tuesday, 8th October.

Other changes this season include the move of the club trial night to Thursday nights.

On club trial nights families are more than welcome, even if you are not a member, to still use the pool BBQ facilities, the wading pool and play area.

The first club trial night will be on Thursday, 17th October with races commencing at 6pm.

Fees for this season have been supplemented by the Sharks to help reduce the ongoing hardship caused by the drought.

Even though the Parkes swimming sea- son is yet to begin, Parkes swimmers have been busy with three Sharks members at- tending a Mountains and Plains development carnival in Orange last Sunday.

Matt and Blake Price and Clara Rice dropped several seconds from their previous best times from last season.

The major highlight for the coming sea- son will be the Parkes Carnival in December, and with a great number of local swimmers making representative swimming teams for schools early in the next school year, it would be a great competition to get involved in to improve times and results.

By Jay Quince

Grand Final Winners

September 26, 2019 By editor

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.

New Amenties A Game Changer

September 26, 2019 By editor

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.

Footy Tipping Results – Round 25

September 10, 2019 By editor

Footy Tipping Results – Round 24

September 3, 2019 By editor

Pumas Reign Supreme In Finals

August 22, 2019 By editor

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.