Last Monday night marked the thrilling conclusion of WTA's Winter Season, as four exhilarating Grand Finals took place.

We extend our thanks to the teams, as well as their families and friends, for supporting our club. With great anticipation, we eagerly await an even grander and more spectacular Grand Final night in the upcoming season.

Mixed A Grade and Mixed Family Grade delivered the tightest contests.

In A Grade Trusty and In the Crear went try for try with the scores locked 5 all deep into the second half until Trusty were able to break the deadlock with 2 late tries.

Similarly in Family Grade no team could gain an ascendancy with scores locked at full time. Escapees/Misfits prevailed in the Drop Off.  Escapees/Misfits 7 Mainlanders 6.

B Grade and C Grade followed a similar path with the winners establishing an early lead that was never threatened.

B Grade Slippery Salmons 5 Ray White 2.

C Grade Fumble This 5 Stingers 1.

WTA extends its thanks to the referees who officiated in the Grand Final. Special thanks to Ian and Bruce experienced referees from the Burdekin Touch Association for helping out.

WTA’s Summer Season will start after the school holidays.

Contributed with thanks to Alita DeBrincat.

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Mixed A Grade Grand Final Winners – Trusty

Slippery Salmons win the B Grade

The team of referees

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Another week is over and its nearly halfway through June already.

The Ladies penants is in full swing and once again we are doing well in all divisions.

Wednesday afternoon Jackpot bowls brilliantly run by Rick and Galea and Merve Stewart saw 22 bowlers chasing the jackpot prize, however it never went off and will Jackpot into next week.

The bar was set high, and it was the team of Nik Fernbach with newcomer Greg and Tony Whitehorn who ran away with the first prize money.

On Friday saw the semi-finals of the Whitsunday Christian College and the improvement in the children has to be seen to be believed and it's going to be another girl’s grand finale.

Saturday and Sunday saw the 23rd running of the June Carnival with 16 teams competing for big cash prizes.

The weekend was also had great sponsors and PRD, Hadlow Racing Team, to name a few.

Fiona Greener was just run off her little feet and with Ray also working tirelessly for the highly successful tournament.

All teams were rewarded with prizes but there can only be one team to win this prestigious event and that belonged to Manny Isgro and his team consisting of Russell Bramich at third, Peter Petersen at second, and Peter Wright at lead.

Congratulations must go to them on their sterling performance.

Amanda Camm was also on hand with great sponsorship for the event.

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson.

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Amanda Camm being presented with her sponsorship appreciation award by Margo Stanley, who worked tirelessly to ensure that the event was highly successful. Photo supplied

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Results of Competition Games:

Club Mixed Pairs: Andrew Peebles, and Helen Jacobsen defeated Sue Fox, and Steve Roome.

Wednesday Social: MaryEllen Pratten, Daryl Tuttle, and Steve Roome defeated Keith Kirk, Allen Williams, and Ross Scanlon.

Peter, Gavin, and Thomson defeated Dave, Jill, and Geoff.

Winners for the afternoon were Bev, Leah, and Ron who defeated Joan, Paula, and Jane.

Sunday Social: Lorraine McArthur, Tracey Roach, and Peter Bruce defeated Eddy Neylon, Mark Rogers, and Gavin Charles.

Daryl Tuttle, and Ron Gould defeated Peter Thomson, and Lee Welsted.

Peter Wilson, Jill Brabon, and Brett Lampard defeated Joan Edwards, Paula Welsted, and Jane Gilbert.

Contributed with thanks to Joan Edwards.

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Wednesday Winners, Bev, Ron, and Leah. Photo supplied

This week's early Wednesday morning social bowls were called off due to rain overnight.  

This meant that everyone was keen as mustard for some wonderful bowls on Sunday afternoon.  

Alen Sanderson and Sandy Daffara defeated John Anderson and Barry Zillmann 19 - 12 in a game of 2/4/2 Pairs.  

Lee King, Bruce Uhe and Heather Brown defeated John Burnett, Arthur Griffith and Mike Harrison 18 - 12 in a game of Triples.  

It has been good to follow the progress of our bowlers who are currently away at the Australian Open competing.  

At the time of writing this, the singles sectional play has one more day to be played before moving on to pairs and fours.  

There are some high-quality bowlers who will be showcasing their games and enjoying the variety of opponents.  

We wish our bowlers a wonderful experience over the two weeks of play and that they come back and share the stories of their experiences.

We are back to normal times for this week's social bowls with names in by 1pm please ready for a 1.30pm start.

Contributed with thanks to Heather Brown.

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Fun Friday winners were Alan Connolly and V Palmer who defeated Roger Mumby and Kay Connelly. John Blementer, Ron Hyde and Ann Fitz defeated Simon Keith, Barry H, Frank F, A Huppatz defeated Jan Dawson and B Russo, and R Stitt, J Stamp and L Palmer defeated Greg Lee, G Howie. The jackpot didn’t go off.  

Winners for Sunday afternoon were Gwenda Lydom, Allan Pearson, Bob Russo and Jim Steele defeated Bill Myer, Roger Mymby, Alan Purson and Geoff Danvers. Runners Up Merle Elphinstone, Maureen Hyde and Dot Slater defeated John, Irene and M Willimamson.

Others J Christie, J Healey and S Fuller defeated L Collins, L Knight and K Jewell. C Dunbar, L Scells and M Richie defeated A Kayser, Land K Armstrong. Pam L Danvers Michael defeated Terri Brian B P Tracey, Steve Sanmone, L Nightingale, K Russo, P Howie defeated T Bowen, M Connolly, I Wheeler and R Hyde.

C Bellingham, S Shearing and K Whitton defeated J Hayson, J Walsh and A Rolfe. M Nesbitt, K Sheldon and B Colquhoun defeated S Pearson, J Breakwell and Norm. The jackpot didn’t go off.                                                                       

Contributed with thanks Penny Warren.

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Caption: Sunday’s winners. Photo contributed

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With the winter break coming up after this week’s round of darts, all the guys will be hoping to go into that break with a win to keep the ball rolling.

The action got underway at the Airlie Beach Bowls Club with Hawkeye Rick taking on Seumas Rose.

Both players down at the wrong end of the table but hoping to improve on current form.

The match was even enough throughout with Rick to his credit showing an improvement compared to recent weeks, giving Seumas a run for his money, but experience came into it in the end, with Seumas capable of going up a gear when needed to win the contest 7/4.

Jamie Maher went top of the league briefly when he defeated Kameron Reason in a one-sided affair by 7 legs to nil, but that was quickly cancelled out with Jamie Woods 7/2 victory over Arthur McMinn shortly after.

The round was closed out with a 6 all draw between Gary Robbie and Kameron Reason in Kameron’s second match of the day, where he slotted home a lovely 180 to take a point, and a maximum for his day’s efforts, not bad at all.

We’ll be back in action in a few weeks’ time after a small break, see you then.

The Premier League is proudly sponsored by Mika Airlie, Whitsunday Tattooing Airlie Beach and Master Butchers Whitsunday, thank you for your support.

Contributed with thanks to Jamie Maher.

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Wednesday’s competition was a single stroke event sponsored by Bowen Golf Club.  

Ladies’ winner was Wendy Tracey 72 nett, runner up Claire Garrod 73 nett.

Men’s winner Douglas Power 66 nett, runner up Cliff Querro 67 nett.

Saturday's competition was an 18-hole 2 ball ambrose medley sponsored by Tropix Refrigeration.  

Thank you to the Woodward family for their continued support of our club.  

Winners were Daniel Windridge and Andrew Menzies, 2nd James Miller and Xanthe Power, 3rd place Paul Martin and Rhyce Layton.

COMING UP

This Saturday's competition is a single stableford event sponsored by Sporte Leisure.  

Joker is worth $3200.  

Contributed with thanks to Grace Nott.

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Last Tuesday Proserpine hosted the Whitsunday Veterans Golf competition. Eighty Vets attended with visitors from New South Wales and Victoria - a great field.

Fortunately, the weather was kind to us and the course was looking in excellent condition.  

Robyn Whitham won the ladies comp with an impressive score of 39, continuing on her success from Gladstone, with Lyn  Muller 36 and Jenny Hounsell  on 35.  

Gerald Lovell won the men's with 39 also, Robert Thompson from the Penguin Golf Club on 36 and Geoff Harrison on 35.

On 27th June will be our Veterans Open, very generously sponsored by Fishi Island Seafood.

Contributed with thanks to Paula McQuat.

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Robyn Whitham and Gerald Lovell

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A fleet of 14 yachts, with a total crew of 88 locals and visitors took part in last Wednesday’s twilight race conducted by Whitsunday Sailing Club.  

A 12 to 15 knot south easterly breeze and flat water made for a wonderful afternoon on the water.

The start of Division 2 was close, with 4 boats crossing the starting line together, with just a small margin allowing QMS Ponyo (John Galloway) to take the Doyle Sails sponsored best start prize, with Treasure VIII (Rob Davis), Reignition (Charles Wallis) and Bobby’s Girl (Simon Brain) close behind.  

By the first rounding mark, Bobby’s Girl held a slender lead over QMS Ponyo, Reignition and Treasure VIII while Smooth Criminal (Iyas Shaheen) and Twister (Kevin Fogarty) were playing catch-up after a slow start.

The racing at the front remained close, with Bobby’s Girl controlling from the front, crossing the finishing line 30 seconds clear of QMS Ponyo, while Smooth Criminal just got ahead of Reignition for third and fourth places.  

After handicaps were applied, Smooth Criminal took the honours by 2 seconds to Twister, with QMS Ponyo third.  

If the start of Division 2 was close, Division 3 was similar, with newcomer, Domino (Paul Dynes) just centimetres ahead of 4 other boats.

Once again it was Matchless (Terry Stevens) who led around the windward mark, never to be headed.  

This left some very close racing behind, with Shiraz (John Cable) and Domino constantly swapping places, while Rossgo (Greg Hammon) and Masquerade (Tom Vujasinovic) keeping watch.  

In the battle for second, Shiraz took the honours by 20 seconds over Domino.  

On corrected time, Riff Raff (Dan White) headed Lighthorse (Dianne Forster) and Rossgo, with less than a minute separating 3rd to 7th places on corrected time.

Races continue every Wednesday from 4:30pm, with limited crewing positions available.

Contributed with thanks to Ross Chisholm.

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Twilight racing every Wednesday afternoon. Photo supplied

Whitsunday Sea Eagles hit the road to take on North Mackay Saints at Zeolla Park on Saturday with some close clashes in the higher grades.

Sea Eagles Senior Men worked hard in what was an epic battle with reigning premiers North Mackay Saints ending the day 39 – 44 down. Sea Eagles had their chances right until the final few seconds of the game and can take many positives away from the narrow loss. Billy Galpin continues his run of form in the midfield backed by Jake Turner and Brent Downie, while Ryan Lee and Mitchell Healey stood out in the backline. Sea Eagles will look to get back on the winners list this week against Bakers Creek at home.

Sea Eagles Under 17s also took on reigning premiers North Mackay Saints losing 33 – 40 in a match where Sea Eagles saw their share of the ball but could not convert in front of goal. The final term saw Sea Eagles almost 4 goals down however they stuck to the task and pegged it back to a solitary point. Saints managed to kick a late goal to seal the 7 point win in a close one.

Under 14 Sea Eagles met a strong and confident Saints who outplayed with connecting football while Sea Eagles tried hard in the contest playing out the game with a loss 2 – 62.

Sea Eagles Under 12s hit the road for the first time this Season coming up against a full strength Saints side and fighting as hard as they could losing 1 – 30.

This Saturday 17th June sees all five Whitsunday Sea Eagles teams at home to celebrate Family Day with face painting and bounce castle from 10am and water slide from 12pm. Juniors from 9:15am, Seniors from 1:50pm. Come down and enjoy the family fun!

Contributed with thanks to Whitsunday Sea Eagles

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Senior Men’s Team. Photo credit: Cody Fowler

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Congratulations to Stephen and Sheryn Barr who were both recently awarded the 2022 Motorcycling Queensland Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Barr family (including their sons) have been involved with the Whitsunday Moto Sports Club (WMSC) right from its beginnings in 2009.  

Sheryn has been the club secretary for six years and membership officer for 10 years with Stephen holding the president position for five years.  

They attend the monthly committee meetings, are involved in building the club facilities and maintaining them, attend bike practice and race events, and also run our canteen at these events.

Nothing is too much effort for the Barr family, they run a tight ship and they do it with a smile.  The bike events would not happen without them and they are always willing to help out.  

This lifetime achievement award is well deserved by the Barr family and to recognise their commitment and dedication to our facility and sport.

Our committee and all users of the facility congratulate the Barr’s on receiving the award.  

Contributed with thanks to Tracey Stroud.

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Stephen and Sheryn Barr were both recently awarded the 2022 Motorcycling Queensland Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo supplied

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By Chris Karas

Emerging netball goalkeeper Shayla Pershouse will realise a childhood sporting dream when she dons her beloved Queensland attire at this year’s School Sport Australia Netball Championships.

The defensive dynamo produced superb performances for the Capricornia representative side at the recent Queensland School Sport Netball Championships in Brisbane to earn her maiden State honours.

Shayla will now line up for the Maroons at the School Sport Australia Netball 15yrs and under National Championships in Perth from July 29 to August 4.

It is a huge achievement for the 15-year-old DAS product who was at her combative best when St Patrick’s College won both the Cup (Seniors) and Shield (Junior) categories at the Capricornia Regional Trials last week at Mackay Multisports Stadium to qualify for the prestigious Vicki Wilson State Netball Championships in Brisbane later this year.

All conquering St Patrick’s College will represent the region in the Vicki Wilson Cup after toppling Holy Spirit College Dovetails 19-12 in the final.

“All of the players trusted each other with positive talk on court and team support a major highlight” revealed coach Newland.

Unbeaten St Patrick’s defeated Holy Spirit College Dovetails 14-9 in the Shield decider with strong performances from shooter Tahlia Anderson, centre Tayla Lucas and goal defence Kate O’Brien.

In the lead up to the final the girls eclipsed Moranbah Rhinos, Mackay North State High, Mackay State High and St Patrick’s Junior Development team in a semi-final.

St Catherine’s College Proserpine won the Boys Round Robin series with Mackay State High finishing runners up and St Patrick’s third.

Co-captains and goal defenders George Mann and Joshua Williamson led a new-look St Patrick’s team that improved throughout the series after tossing Moranbah 9-7 in their opening game and suffered narrow losses to St Catherine’s and Mackay State High.

Coach Nina Gaviglio praised the efforts of her developing squad which also included goal attacks Braithan Vickers and Jacob Elbourne, wing defenders Oscar Bishop and Lance Allan, centre Trae Cora, wing attack Toby Falconer and goal shooter Josh Venz.

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St Patrick’s College Mackay’s triumphant Vicki Wilson Cup and Shield netball squads that won the regional trials to qualify for the State Championship in Brisbane during August. Standing l to r Lilly Newland, Tayla Lucas, Mia Pastega, Kate O’Brien, Jala Brown, Mackenzie Maunder, Tahlia Anderson, Libby Zurvas, Jayda Earl, Ella McGill, Ainsley Carey, Kiana Dunn; front Skye Mole, Lacie Clarke, Tenille Cotter, Bethany McPherson, Sophie Durelli, Shaylah Pershouse, Francesca Vella and Rebecca Symons

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Logan Thunder have confirmed their status as championship favourites in the NBL 1 North Basketball Conference.

The competition front runners demonstrated their title credentials when they rolled a courageous Mackay Meteors outfit 96-83 last Saturday night at Mackay Basketball Stadium.

It was the Thunder team’s twelfth win from 13 fixtures with former star Meteors guard Shaun Bruce playing a pivotal role for the visitors.

The outstanding number seven produced a classy display to finish with 14 points, four rebounds and 13 assists to help keep the Logan side entrenched at the top of the ladder.

Bruce was supported by Sydney Kings NBL Championship-winning forward Majok Deng, who capped a top game with 23 points, eleven rebounds and four assists and talented guard Boston Mazlin (21 points, four rebounds and four assists).

The fifth placed Meteors applied defensive pressure on the Thunder for most of the match and trailed 24-16, 57-36 and 84-58 at the end of each break.

But they failed to pounce on several rebound opportunities which proved costly for the home side in the end.

Logan kept close tabs on champion Mackay guard Isaac White – restricting the pocket dynamo to 22 points, four rebounds and three assists on the night.

Stalwart Meteors forward Brad Rasmussen turned in a wholehearted display with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists while sharp shooting guard Tyler Williams contributed 14 points, five rebounds and four assists and forward Shane Temara (14 points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist).

Logan Thunder women kept their nerve to edge out the Mackay Meteorettes 69-61 in the early game.

In a game of fluctuating fortunes both sides produced some exhilarating basketball with the Logan side staving off a fierce Mackay challenge.

Leading Thunder guard Mikaela Ruef proved the difference with a superb game – posting 24 points, 24 rebounds and three assists to mastermind a Logan victory.

She was supported by guard Mikhaela Cann (15 points, two rebounds and seven assists) and forwards Chevannah Paalvast (11 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Ula Motuga (11 points and four rebounds).

The Meteors and Meteorettes play host to the Ipswich Force this Saturday night at Mackay Basketball Stadium with tip offs at 6pm and 8pm respectively.

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The Whitsunday Raiders held a night of rugby on Friday 2nd June, this saw the start of the 2nd round for the MRU senior men against Bowen, as well as a long-awaited game for the senior women’s team.

It also incorporated the 2nd round of the annual Eclipse Financial Services Cup and the very loyal Raiders sponsors night.

With a growing crowd the senior women kicked off the night with a game of 10’s against a newly formed Bowen women’s team, this was a bit of a tussle between the women, with the Whitsunday team finally coming away with a close 12-5 victory.

With the grandstand full and plenty of voices heard across the field, the main game kicked off to start what turned out to be a hard task for both sides.

Dylan Hoffmann got a small break in the defence and scooted through after 7 minutes to plant the ball under the posts, 7-nil raiders.

Nearly half an hour had passed when the Bowen forwards made their mark across the white line, 7-5 Raiders.

Neither team were going to make it easy to get points and at half time the score was still 7-5.

The first 10 minutes of the second half saw the score move to 14-12 Raiders, with great defence and the Raiders backs attacking the Bowen defensive line, the ball was intercepted and saw Bowen run the length of the field to put them in front 19 -14.

This seemed to get the Raiders back into their game plan and bring their energy levels up a notch and saw them run in another 3 tries before the final whistle, score Raiders 35, Bowen 19.

Best on field for the Raiders were Connor Spence 1pt, Manaia Ngakaunui-Hauiti 2pts, Aden Spence 3pts.

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A fantastic start to Round 2

Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday night fixtures May 30, 2023:

Division 1:

Jaguar (Tim Shehan, Barry Patterson, Anne Sheridan) d Mercedes (Geoff Denman, Graham Drury, Mark Sleeman) 7-4. Graham d Barry 5, -9, 4, -7, 10.

BMW (Ivan Perkins, Emma Widdup, Ian McKay) d Lexus (Steven Whiting, Vince Boeske, Graham Brake) 7-4. Graham d Ian 7, -12, -4, 8, 5.

Ferrari (Andrew McHugh, Robbie Richards, Tony Bowman) d Audi (Neil Brown, Janice Kent) 9-2. Andrew d Neil 8, 9, -7, -7, 10.

Division 2:

Isuzu (Steve Mathieson, Wayne Womald, Donna Abbott) d Mazda (Peter Goodson, Rymer Tabulo) 9-2. Peter d Donna -9, 7, 9, -9, 5.

Honda (George Camilleri, Mark Stam, Ishan Rana) d Nissan (Daniel Warfield, Graeme Walker, Will VanDeKaa) 6-5. Ishan d Graeme -10, 6, -5, 9, 12.

Division 3:

Hyundai (Duncan Sheridan, Noreen Fredericksen, Ollie Hamelink) d Kia (Craig VanDeKaa, Aarnav Reelh, Virginia Clayton) 9-2. Noreen d Aarnav 9, -5, -16, 6, 8.

Holden (John McGee, Tiffany Camilleri, Trent Day) d Ford (Steve Crocker, Val Austin, Saisha Palod) 10-1. Trent d Val 8, 5, -10, 10.

Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday morning fixtures May 30, 2023:

Division 1:

Yellow (Donna Abbott, Peter Goodson, Bryan Marshall) d Green (Charlie Payne, Pam Joyce, Noreen Fredericksen) Bryan d Pam 10, 7, -7, -5, 9.

Blue (George Camilleri, John McGee, Don Boettcher) d Red (Branko Vucurovic, Steve Mathieson, Kevin Abbott) 7-5. George d Branko -9, 10, -7, 8, 8.

Division 2:

Orange (Helen Ware, Louise Gould, Wayne Wormald) d White (Marie Taylor, Kim Daffy) 5-all. Marie d Louise 4, 6, -10, -6, 6.

Purple (Iris Grasso, Ken Best, Judi Hicks) d Pink (Robyn Bushell, John Hamelink, Fred Saliba) 9-3. Iris d John -11, 7, -6, 8, 7.

Division 3:

Grey (Sharon Muller, Ian Dodds) d Tan (Charyl Aprato, Madge Saunders, Bill Hey) 7-5. Sharon d Bill 8, -9, -7, 12, 3.

Aqua (Charles Hamlett, Robyn Giles, Glenda Dutton) d Lime (Frank Caruana, Glenda Brookes, Myles Dutton) 8-4. Charles d Frank 6, -9, -13, 6, 9.

Contributed by Charlie Payne

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Noreen Fredericksen. Photo supplied

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