Sport

The 2023 NSW Coastal Safety Report has highlighted a stark increase in bystander rescue drownings along with the finding that more than half of coastal drownings are happening in regional and remote areas ... The rise in attempted rescues by members of the public who end up drowning themselves (bystander rescues), is a worrying trend that lifesavers don’t want repeated this summer.  

Southern Downs Regional Council wants the views of the Allora community on a number of important matters including the Allora Senior Citizens Centre, Allora Library, Allora Sports Museum and Allora Community Hall.

It was a picture-perfect day for the Copper Coast Battle Dragons’ annual dragon boat racing Wallaroo Marina Challenge on Saturday, November 18. There were 11 clubs participating in this year’s event, including clubs from as far as Mannum and Adelaide, in nine different categories; the challenge day is a favourite for many clubs.

To say that Noah Berry was having a good cricket season would be just about the understatement of the year ... Whilst his first innings of the Wimmera-Mallee season yielded only one run, from then on he has reeled off scores of 131 not out, 54, 59, and 59 not out, with a six-round average of 101!

There's no denying that the Welsh breed of ponies is one of the world’s most beautiful and the South Australian All Welsh Show at Strathalbyn had some of the best on display. Victorian judge Paul Morath was pleased with what he saw from both event and competition perspectives.

The girls from Ironbark Equestrian Club have done it again. On the back of a win at the Top Teams showjumping championships at Mansfield last month, the club has now also taken out the main event of the Top Teams Dressage championships at Benalla.

Birchip, Victoria, is the hang-gliding hotspot of Australia and this weekend the town will kick off the Big K Week for nine action-packed days of car tow-launching. Hang-gliding is a sports aviation discipline which is part of the Sports Aviation Federation of Australia (SAFA) governing body, made up of more than 3,000 members.

The official launch of the Corryong Golf Club’s new synthetic greens on the weekend attracted players from throughout the region and drew many favourable comments about the new surface ... After the 2019-20 bushfires and the onset of the pandemic a few months later the course was essentially out of action for two years.

After being closed for the past seven years, a new committee hopes to restore the Khancoban Country Club to its glory days. The committee is intent on "nursing the club back to health." ... Named ‘The Weston’ the bistro is being run by Benjamin Weston, a young local who moved to Khancoban just over one year ago.

23-year-old Karim was born in Grenada, an island in the West Indies, but moved to London at an early age. He has the unique opportunity of splitting his time between England and the Caribbean, spending six months in each and playing cricket in both countries.

For the first time in many years, a local golfer has won the Open Championship at the Allora Golf Club. Talented sportsman Willy Duff won the event from an incredible field of 85 local and visiting golfers at the Allora course on Sunday. The field was the best contesting an Allora Open for at least 10 years.

The 2023 Yamba Triathlon was held in prefect weather conditions producing excellent racing over the weekend with Yamba local Keanu Staader securing the victory in the highly competitive Men’s Open division. Staader won in a time of one hour, two minutes and 49 seconds, from Ben Russell in second (1.04.06) and Jake Russell (1.04.55).

Peter Hibberd. The after-party of the running of the bet365 Donald Cup was very good, but it would not compare to the party held by the Symon Wilde stable from Warrnambool after three winners at the Donald Racing Centre, including successive Donald Cups.

Patrick Goldsmith. Point Turton’s Hugo Taheny has been named as one of 11 ambassadors from across the country for International Day of People with Disability ... An elite athlete with a haul of accolades to his name, including two gold medals at the Virtus Global Games in Vichy, France, earlier this year, Mr Taheny was invited to take on the role by the federal government, alongside lawyers, writers, artists and academics.

Nearly 3,000 students across Queensland and Northern NSW are enrolled in this years’ Beyond the Broncos program, an initiative of the Brisbane Broncos to inspire, empower and assist with educational opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students ... Sarah Dodd, Beyond the Broncos Student Support Officer at Dalby State High School, is proud to provide emotional and academic support within a culturally safe space in the school.

The NSW Combined Driving Championships held at Gundagai attracted 48 entries across 18 classes ... It was a great setting for dressage and cone phases, with competitors also enjoying a 14km marathon course comprising 7km of local roads and tracks and 7km containing seven timed man-made obstacles.

The Royal Hobart Show horse program had a bit of a shake-up this year due to continuing redevelopment works at the showgrounds. Classes were held at the Tasmanian Equestrian Centre at Lauderdale instead of the Glenorchy site, which has been the home of the royal show since 1904 except for the past two years while work progresses on a new arena and pavilions.

Pam Dillon. The biggest inter-school swimming carnival was held in the Barkly last week and was a huge success, with Epenarra emerging as the champions. The event not only showcased students’ swimming abilities but also highlighted the camaraderie and sportsmanship among the schools.

A book written by Greg Riach takes readers on a journey through the history of football in the western and southern districts of NSW from 1920-1976, encompassing groups 9, 10, 11, 14 and 15. Much of the content has been sourced from newspaper reports and photographs of players and teams ...

At the beginning of October, two ‘international’ cricketers arrived in Cohuna to spend the season playing for Nondies Cohuna Cricket Club. Archie Sussex and Karim Marcelle have both come from the UK and are settling into our little patch nicely.

The Grafton Cycle Club is celebrating after four of its members achieved outstanding results in the 2023 WEMBO (World Endurance Mountain Bike Organisation) World Solo 24 Hour Mountain Bike Championships. Michelle Newstead, Benjamin Luxton, Grant Hodgins, and Brendan Howard returned to the Clarence Valley with two world championship titles...