Sport

Geoff McDougall and champion kelpie Ace recently won the open section of the South West Slopes Championships Working Dog Trial ... Yard dog trials are competitions that test the skills of dogs and their handlers in guiding sheep around a course.

Entrants from across Australia flocked to Hay Showgrounds. There they threw their hats in the ring to compete for buckles and impressive cash prizes.

A phenomenal weekend was enjoyed by a whopping 400 competitors. Plenty of fish caught over the weekend and it was hard work with the weather conditions ... There were incredibly impressive prizes on offer, thanks to a lot of highly generous sponsors.

Peter Hibberd. Over the next three weekends the Boort, Birchip and Charlton Clubs will run their feature meetings with the running of their pacing and trotting cups ... On a very competitive day of racing, drivers Damian Wilson and Alex Ashwood took the driving honours with each having a double.

You have to admire an agricultural show that has been around since before the telegraph was connected. Crookwell in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales held its first show in 1879 and 146 years later it is still a showcase for the state’s finest horses.

Early drizzle failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the capacity field in the Corryong Open tournament on Sunday and competition was fierce in all grades as the heat and humidity ramped up, none more so than the battle for the Open title which was decided by a playoff … Wayne Dubois, has been the player to beat on the Hills Zone circuit recently and maintained that form to post a 77 off the stick and looked the likely winner.

The sirens fell silent after 60 seasons at the mighty Wakool Footy ground. The passionate club that shared the highs and lows of country football and netball sadly closed in 2018.

Tom Mcgufficke. It was the final showdown between Riverina Rattlers and South Hay Crusaders; the Hay Cricket Association Grand Final. It proved to be a vital toss that was won by Crusaders captain Simon Bunyan, who chose to bat first on a grassy wicket.

Congratulations to the A Grade One Day Premiers - West Wimmera. West Wimmera 10/140 def Homers 10/92.

AFL legend Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico is among those encouraging Australians aged 50 years and over to be aware of their risk of the disease during shingles awareness week, which runs from February 24 to March 2. Mr DiPierdomenico and fellow shingles awareness week ambassadors journalist Shelly Horton and news presenter Deborah Knight have all experienced first-hand the pain and impact of shingles.

Birchip Cricket Club had the pleasure of presenting a Sportsman Night with Jason "Dizzy" Gillespie at the Birchip Leisure Centre ... 60 attendees listened to an enjoyable night of his experiences within the Australian and International cricket communities.

Croydon is one of the state’s classic old agricultural shows. It has had three homes, first in the old Croydon sports ground, then for a while at the Royal Melbourne Showground and lately at the Yarra Glen Pony Club ground. After hearing the forecast for extremely hot weather for the weekend, the Croydon committee discussed how to proceed with the show.

One of Queensland’s most loved events in the Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular, the richest Clydesdale Show in the Southern Hemisphere will this year be held in Beaudesert, taking over the showground on the weekend of June 14 and 15. The announcement was celebrated today by three magnificent harness horses – Billy, Bobbi and Bluey!

The recent Corryong Paragliding Open - a round of the Australian championships - once again proved popular with flyers and spectators although a couple of mishaps during competition could have had more serious consequences. "The Corryong area is a world class flying area and Mt Elliot is one of the best paragliding and hangliding mountains in Australia," said Dave Gibbs from competition host Airtribune.

Serena Kirby. Tossing the coin for a women’s quarter final last month between Aryna Sabalenka and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open was the thrill of Zuri Ochieng’s life. The 10 y/o was selected for the toss while attending the tournament as part of the ‘Super 10s’ tennis camp ...

Serena Kirby. Five drowning tragedies along WA’s southern coastline this summer have again highlighted the ever-present danger our coastline presents. Two people lost their lives in waters off Esperance, two at Conspicuous Cliffs ... and one at Bremer Bay.

Marion Nelson. Perth Golf Network and Harvey golfers Dee and Drew Devenish delivered an outstanding performance to secure the Denmark Summer Golf Classic winners’ trophy ... Committee chair Irene Stone said that more than 300 golfers representing 57 clubs competed.

As she positioned herself on the starting block, adjusted her goggles, and concentrated on her breathing while focusing on the water in front of her, it was a moment 16-year-old Andrea Thomson was determined to savour ... Andrea was one of the first swimmers to dive into the 50m Grafton Olympic Pool at the Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre during its public opening on February 15.

Mick Cattanach. After their record-breaking win last week, Hay cricketers experienced a trialling set of matches, being defeated in the O’Farrell and Creet Cups. They fought valiantly for the wins, and put in superlative efforts despite their losses.

Hugh Schuitemaker. The decade-long dream of a well-known Waikerie Football Club figure has been realised with the completion of a major new community facility ... “They say it takes a village to bring up a child. It has taken much more to get this facility funded and built”: WFC Build Committee chair Brendan Sidhu.

“If it’s good enough for the cricketers to have a drink on the ground on a hot day, why can’t I?” ... On this occasion, Maggie has spotted an uncoupled hose, and is making the most of a free drink, courtesy of Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water.

Marc Le Bars. Local Nimbin man, Zac McDonald is set to participate in the Australian title coming up on 21st-22nd February in Warnambool, Victoria, at Premier Speedway where he hopes to stamp his name in the books, and stand on the top step as the Australian Champion.