Sport

Wayne Culph. A warm Spring-day and a fresh sea breeze were the perfect backdrop for the first races of the new season at the Big River Sailing Club. Keen to take advantage of the recent easing of restrictions, a fleet of 22 boats assembled to contest Heats 1 and 2 of the Handicap Series.

J Grey. The fourth annual Bowls Queensland North versus South Challenge will be held at the Mossman Memorial Bowls Club on October 30 and 31, 2021.

Ewan Amateur Turf Club is celebrating country racing’s heritage on the weekend of 24th and 25th September at Stockyard Creek with their first TAB meeting to be televised nation-wide on Sky Racing.

Weipa Town Authority chairman Michael Rowland says he was blown away by the response to the town’s new sports facility at Saturday’s official opening. Hundreds flocked to the Weipa Aquatic Sports Precinct for the festivities, which saw tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley cut the ribbon with Rio Tinto Weipa boss Michelle Elvy.

The nominees for the prestigious 2020/21 Australian Racehorse of the Year awards have been announced by Racing NSW.

Karen Harlan. Picnic Day weekend was no picnic at Tennant Creek Speedway, it was fast-paced, action-packed racing. With two titles up for grabs competitors from Katherine and Darwin ventured into town to take on the local drivers. Tennant Creek was holding the Street Stock Annual 60-Lapper and their new title event of North vs South for the NT Sedans.

As the state prepares for the anticipated relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions over the coming months, the release today of the 2021 NSW Coastal Safety Report by Surf Life Saving NSW has highlighted the need for hyper-vigilance on our beaches, with a spike in coastal visitation expected following large-scale lockdowns.

Claire Rankin. Evans Head surfers are stoked to back one of their own as he steps on to the world circuit. Halftide Boardriders club at Evans Head is trying to raise $25,000 to help club member Callum Robson compete overseas.

Geoff Helisma. A small team of Lower Clarence women have found a great way to do charitable work while they exercise among the waves. ‘Swell Sisters’ – Clair Morton, Shannon Grainger, Emy Alexander and Georgie Smith – are on a mission to raise funds for  SurfAid ¸  which provides “a hand up, rather than a handout, to people in remote communities connected to us through surfing,” says Clair.

The number 22 proved to be extremely lucky for dad Jamie Hutton, who celebrated Father’s Day in style when he won a new boat at the Weipa Fishing Classic on Saturday night. Jamie, who was born on the 22nd, purchased key ring 1722 and was the 22nd person to be drawn into the major prize pool.

There was nothing soft about this comp! After a successful albeit last minute round up, the reviews are in and there are calls for the AAI Softball Tournament to become an annual shin-dig.

The Greens have introduced a bill to parliament that would ban the export of greyhounds from Australia for commercial purposes including breeding and racing.

The Massive Murray Paddle holds important significance within the paddling community, and for the charities and local causes the event supports. COVID-19 has taken a terrible toll on events and races over the past two years, and we felt it was very important not to cancel our event for the second time in its 52-year history ... The Massive Murray Paddle 2021 will now take place from 21-25 February, 2022 ... The event generates important funds for communities in the region. Between 2016 and 2019, the event has contributed $800,585 to local community causes ...

A significant milestone in building a future for the commercial and recreational fishing industries has been reached with the next stage of the Queensland Government’s Sustainable Fisheries reforms coming into effect on September 1.

David Miles. Playing under lockdown rules is seeing some excellent scores at Yamba Golf & Country Club. The Thursday Stableford saw 151 golfers compete and with many handicaps reduced in the great conditions.

Former local and NRL Burleigh Bears prospect Shallin Fuller is set to join the Gold Coast Titans next year. Shallin is from Muli Muli, attended Woodenbong Central School and played for the Turkeys.

The 2021 SunSmart WA School Surfing Titles concluded with a bang, as students from 24  different regional and metropolitan high schools converged  on Trigg Beach for the finale to Surfing WA's biggest participation based event of the year.

Chris Murray. Mary Marlowe’s novel, Psalmist of the Dawn (published in 1934 but probably written in 1931) is set on Lord Howe and populated with real places, activities and people – that latter only slightly disguised behind pseudonyms ... Garfishing was an important part of the Islanders’ semi-subsistence lifestyle before World War II. Large quantities of gars were caught not only for local consumption but also for sale to passing vessels.

Phantom Bonnie was ahead of the pack at Casino Greyhound Racing Club.

Angie Day. Grafton Hockey Association recently hosted a highly successful “Doin’ it for Holly” Round on  Saturday August 14. The day is named in honour of Holly Butcher, a local Graftonian and hockey player who sadly passed away in 2018 at the age of 27 after a battle with Ewings Sarcoma. In her final days, Holly wrote a very moving letter titled “A bit of life advice from Hol” ... One of Holly’s final requests in her letter was to encourage people to become blood donors, so one of the big focuses of the “Doin’ it for Holly” day was the “100 lives Challenge”.

Around 5000 people packed into Weipa’s new showgrounds facility for the 2021 Weipa Bullride on Friday and Saturday night. Numbers soared in the arena, too, with massive entries across most of the events.

NSW Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall has announced that anglers around the state could get back to reeling in some of our finest native sportfish when the Australian Bass and Estuary Perch season opens on Wednesday, 1 September 2021.