The 2023 Don River Dash celebrated its biggest year yet with an impressive 97 cars taking to the track and just over 200 bikes revving their engines at the starting line on Saturday.

The oldest rider was 71 years old and the youngest had just turned 16.

“The Don River Dash is the pinnacle of off-road racing in our region, and it has continued to grow in popularity since the first event in 2019,” said Mayor Julie Hall.

“The event puts Bowen and the Whitsundays on the map and importantly gives our region a major economic boost throughout the three-day event.”

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The Don River Dash is over for 2023, with high thrills and spills energising Bowen for one powerful weekend. Photo credit: Cory Aldridge

As the season heads to the pointy end, three Whitsunday teams had to battle for a place in the Grand Final with the Premier Men already securing their place.

The U13 Div1 and U15 FQPL knew they had to win some big battles to get through.

The Under 13s played first against an evenly matched Lions team.

Opportunities presented for both sides with the Lions goalkeeper making three brilliant saves to stop almost certain goals.

A penalty for Lions halfway led to a goal off an unfortunate deflection and they took a 1-0 lead into the half time break.

The second half saw the Whitsundays lift even more with a strategic formation change seeing our strongest attackers peppering the Lions goal with plenty of shots.

They should be proud of what they and the kids have achieved have and the massive improvement during the course of the year to be at a point where they were genuine Grand Finals contenders.

The U15 FQPL semi-final was always going to be a hard one against a very consistent Dolphins team. Dolphins started fast and dominated possession from the outset.

A lapse in our defence lead to a very early goal.

Their second wasn’t far behind putting us 2-0 down.

However, the Whitsunday team rallied and started to get on a roll, pressuring the Dolphins defence with plenty of creative play.

With only minutes to go in the first half, Reef Peel unleashed an absolute screamer from long-range bringing the score to 2-1 at the half time break.

With no goals added in the second half, it was a disappointing result for the team, but they should be proud of their results in the latter part of the season.

The Premier women have booked themselves a spot in the grand final with 6-0 win against Country orange.

It didn’t take the ladies long to find their groove with Lena breaking through the Country defensive line to put Whitsundays 1-0 up after 6 minutes.

With 10 minutes to go, the Whitsunday ladies were awarded a free kick outside the box and Violet took coach Peter’s instructions to “drop it in the space” one step further by placing it in the net instead. The last goal of the night came a few minutes later with Akema getting on the end of a cross by Willow.

A proud result for the Whitsunday club having both senior Premier teams in the grand final. The army will descend on Mackay Football Park next Saturday with supporters’ buses organised. Go Whitsunday!!!

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The Accom Whitsunday Trail Fest saw a massive 150 participants taking on four different local trails last weekend.

The most difficult hike, the Shokz Ultra 58km boasted a record 27 registrations and 25 runners on the day.

“We’re really happy with that outcome,” Race Director Andrea Farley explained.

The 58km winners were Cristian Smith from Mackay and Sarah Parkins from Alligator Creek.

Across the day, four more records were broken.

Demi Caldwell from Mackay broke the 28km women’s record, completing the trek in 2:23:56, breaking the previous record of 2:37:06.

Proserpine doctor Damien Messmer broke the 28km men’s record, finishing in 2:22:40, the previous record being 2:29:44

The 10.5km Honeyeater records were broken by Zane Devine, in 1:02:27, and Aimee Sulzenberger in 1:03:33, both of the Whitsundays.

For the 1.4km Kids Beach Bash, 27 keen athletes dashed across the Airlie Beach foreshore.

“It was such a good day with a great turnout and a great atmosphere,” Andrea said.

“We had a lot of interest from Mackay, as well runners from Western Australia and Spain.

“We hope next year will be bigger and better.”

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As the days get longer and warmer and spring comes to our paradise, the bowls at our club are in full bloom all around the district.

Wednesday afternoon Jackpot bowls was won by Tony Whitehorn's team with a score of 33-14 with Graham Cowling and Eric Barnard.

Saturday morning Scroungers final game saw Warren Mills win again with some precision bowls and white washing the field.

The winners then played the final and first round winners of Russell Jackson, Gary Kiff and Margo Stanley play out the final.

It was Margo who won easily with 2 ends to be played she was so far in front and couldn't be beaten in an outstanding performance.

Meanwhile in Bowen, 14 teams playing for great prize money saw Tony Whitehorn's team of Betty his better half Helen Ward back from South Australia and the very reliable Col Morris beat all contenders to represent our little club in Paradise and do us proud.

Sunday afternoon Social bowls saw Fiona Greener draw out the lowest winning score.

It was John Askew with his team of Janet Jacometti and Graham Cowling taking home the winning prize, and it was the new A Grade Mens singles champion Alan Pershouse take home the prestigious Health Hub award.

Next week we shall report on the schools finals and the Champion of Champions and the Five a side competition at Seaforth

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson.

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This week has been a busy week once again.  

The Men's Senior Singles competition is underway.  

On Wednesday Philip Brown defeated Bruce Uhe 25 – 16.

On Sunday Mike Harrison defeated Bryan Davy 25 - 19.  

Dale Haack is to play Ken Watts and Sandy Daffara is to play Luchie Gardel.  

It is hoped that these games can be played this week so that the Semi Finals and possibly the finals can be played this weekend.  

Our club entry into the Champion of Champion events needs to be confirmed at the end of this week with the Champion of Champions being held at St Helens the following weekend.

Also in Club Competition was a game of the "B" Pairs Gavin Noonan and Todd Leys defeated Bruce Uhe and Mike Harrison 27-18.  

They are now ready for the other Semi Final to be played so that the Final can be played prior to the Champion of Champion event to be held at Proserpine October 21-22.

Our Men's Triples team competed in the Champion of Champion Triples held at Souths Suburban on the weekend.  

Shane Kinnear, Dale Haack and Wayne Handley were defeated in the Saturday afternoon game by Sarina.  

The event was won by Souths Suburban with runners up Marian.

Best wishes to Toby Craig who is playing in the Champion of Champion B Singles at Airlie Beach this coming weekend.

Nominations for Board positions for the Proserpine AGM close this weekend with the AGM being held on Saturday, October 7 at 10am.

Contributed with thanks to Heather Brown.

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Our Mondays self-selected triples Winners for the afternoon were R Stitt, A Vigar, and A Rolfe.

Best other were B Myers, C Frew, and L Knight.

On Tuesday winners were J Vigar, D Slater, and L Nightingall.

Winners for our Fun Friday afternoon were A Lancaster, L Fox, and J Chadwick.

Friday Barefoot bowls winners were Wendy, James, and Dave.

Sunday winners came out on Rink 4.

They were L Suann, I Wheeler, and W Coonan.

The jackpot didn’t go off.

In the Men’s Pairs Final: M Drummond A Rolfe defeated G Colquhoun G Danvers

As most of the visitors have headed home bowls will now be played Sunday Tuesday and Friday Night.

Contributed with thanks to Penny Warren.

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Jamie Maher and Jamie Woods kicked off the mornings action at the Airlie Beach Bowls Club, with a place in the preliminary final the reward for the winner.

Jamie Maher got out of the blocks early taking a slim 2/0 lead over Woodsy. Woodsy then took the 3rd leg, before Jamie went on a mini run to make it 4/1 at the break.

Woodsy looked a little out of sorts, and was doing all he could to stay in the contest when play resumed, but Jamie took full advantage of the situation, and claimed a spot in the preliminary final by winning the match 8/5.  

Woodsy had a second bite of the cherry thanks to his top 4 finish this year, where he took on, and dispatched of, Kameron Reason by 9 legs to 2 in the 1st semi-final of the day.

Woodsy upped his game and had to, hitting a fine 180 to empathise the point, as Kam was putting in some very good performances over the back end of the season.

That win put an end to Kam’s season however, and sets up a mouth-watering clash between Woodsy and Dom Friend in the first prelim final next week, where we will say goodbye to one previous champion.

There was a 180 in the other semi-final also between Joe Wilson and Gary Robbie, which went the way of Gary, but unfortunately for Gaz, that’s all he would be celebrating on the day, as Joe claimed a solid 9/2 victory.

Joe will take on Jamie Maher in the other prelim final in a week’s time, where he will be looking to make his first grand final appearance, whereas Jamie on the other hand, will be looking for back to back grand final appearances, and a chance to go one better than his disappointing runner up finish from 2022.

In the two Hetlock Cup semi finals, Andy Peel defeated Jayden Lloyd by 6 legs to 2, and in the other semi, Hawkeye Rick reached his first final in his debut season, as he defeated Art McMinn by the same 6/2 scoreline. That sets up a Hetlock Cup final between Andy and Hawkeye next week.

The Premier League is sponsored by Mika Airlie, Whitsunday Tattooing Airlie Beach and Master Butchers Whitsunday & MBW On the Barbie.

Contributed with thanks to Jamie Maher.

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Kam Reason (L) walks away as Jamie Woods (R) sets himself at the oche. Photo supplied

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Foursomes Club Champions Decided – Ryan Wilkes and Trish McNeill are the 2023 Foursomes Champions.

Gross Runner Ups were Jenny Hounsell and Lewis Tuck.

Nett Winners were George Meharry and Pauline Redpath, and Nett Runner Ups were Ray and Kerrie Johannsen.

Tuesday’s competition saw Peter Lindsay hit some form with 68 nett closely followed by Brian Smith on 69 nett.

Tina Badenhorst also played well to win the ladies with 72 nett, followed by Paula McQuat.

Diane Chard was too good in the PD Law Monthly Medal to win by 2 from Trish McNeill.

NTP winners were Trish McNeill, Pam Harrison, Di Chard, and Robyn Whitham.

Jacqui Wall putting well with 26.

Gavin Kerwand played very well with a 64 nett to win the VenueSmart Division 1 monthly medal ahead of Sean Fogarty on 67 nett.

Ron Jammo Jamieson was a clear winner in Division 2 with 66 nett beating Peter Lewis on 70nett.

NTP winners: Ron Jamieson, Peter Krause, Ken Todd, and Gavin Kerwand.

The A Grade winner on Saturday was Ryan Wilkes on a very nice 38 pts, ahead of George Meharry on 37pts.

Dean Kercher also played well to win B Grade with 39 pts and Laurie Dakin in second place with 37 pts.

NTP winners – Josh de Hutton, Rick Hamilton, Kelvin Stephens, and Jim Cochrane.

Di Dobbins is back in form, winning the ladies competition with an impressive 38 pts, ahead of Helen Deighton on 32 pts. NTP winners: Penny Wardroper and Di Chard.

Contributed with thanks to Proserpine Pro Shop Team.

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We had perfect weather conditions for last Tuesday's September Monthly Medal.

Peter Lindsay blitzed the field with an impressive score of 68 followed by Gary Scotford 70 on a countback from John Roser.  

Jenny Hounsell had an equally great score of 69 from Jan Shuwalow 71 from Tina Badenhorst 72.

Nearest the pins went to Ken Granger and John Strelec on Hole 2, Michael Cragg Hole 8 and Laurie Daiken Hole 13.  

Tina Badenhorst and Jacqui Wall Hole 2, Helen Deighton and Tina Badenhorst Hole 8 and Moya Bradley Hole 13.

Least putts went to Gary Scotford with 25 and Helen Deighton 27.

Next Tuesday we are hosting the final round of the Croker Shield.

Contributed with thanks to Paula McQuat.

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The Clubs weekly 9-holes winner was Craig Smith with 22 points.

Second was Jacky Hayes Williams with 18 points and third was Alan Clinch with 17 points.

Fridays Prawn Run was won this week by Justyn Durbin with 22 points, second was Glenn Rees also with 22 points, third was Sacha Walton with 21 points.

Sunday’s 18-hole competition was very close, three players scored 41 points, so the placing was determined by count back.

The winner was Donavan Pettiford, Josh Barnard was second and third was Dave Thomas.

Nearest the Pin winners were Scott Morrissey and Dean Barnard.

This coming Sunday the 17th Is the Clubs Stableford Championship. 18-holes, please book your tee time at the Club.

Tee off available between 8am – 10am. The next Ladies Play will be this Thursday the 14th.

Contributed with thanks to Whitsunday Green.

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Congratulations to all the Cannons selected for the SNQ State and National Development Squad.  Jy Parkinson, Noah Maltby, Remy Hedges, Jacob Bell, Holly Perrin, and Tora Delac attended a State and National Development Session in Bowen on Sunday lead by Queensland Coach, Barry Prime.  

Swimmers enjoyed participating in a range of activities in and out of the pool with other top swimmers from North Queensland. A big thank you to coaches, Ken Crittenden and Mark Erickson for coaching sessions and for SNQ for organizing the day.  

On Wednesday night, 30 swimmers participated at Club Night. Congratulations to Isabella Pisaniello and Ryan Clark for winning the Chocolate Awards (for best PBs). Congratulations to Harry Chegwidden, Noah Maltby and Andie Reynolds for achieving Upgrades.  

Top performers on Wednesday night were Trace Quick and Tora Delac. Trace swam 3 personal best times. His best swim was his Backstroke which he did a 8.87 seconds PB. Tora Delac swam an excellent 200 metre Breaststroke smashing her best time by over 1 min.  She swam a super time of 3.19.70.  

Noah Maltby, Maeve Dichiera, Jack Ganter, Isaac Pisaniello, Liam Filewood, Thomas Ganter, Lily Maher, Leo Mullis, Celeste Orenshaw, Ryan Clark, Jacob Bell, and Harris Delac swam extremely well and swam personal best times. Well done, swimmers!

A big thank you to all the wonderful parents and coaches for all your support!  New swimmers and their families are most welcome to come and try Club Nights on Wednesdays from 5pm.  

Contributed with thanks to Raylene Rasmussen.

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Harry Chegwidden with his Upgrade certificate

Isabella Pisaniello with her chocolate award

Cannons ready to start

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Cricket loving dads were served up a Father’s Day treat last Sunday at Harrup Park when Mackay Junior Cricket clubs grabbed an opportunity to meet and greet members of the Australia A men’s cricket team.

Some 110 enthusiastic junior cricketers and parents from local clubs Walkerston, Brothers, Souths Sharks, Pioneer Valley, Northern Suburbs Devils and Proserpine caught up with the Australian squad at Great Barrier Reef Arena on the eve of the four-day international fixture against New Zealand A in Mackay.

Under the astute guidance of coach Adam Voges, the Australia A team - featuring star players such as Cameron Bancroft, Josh Philippe, Matt Kuhnemann and Mark Steketee - promised a week filled with riveting cricket action.

The heartwarming Q and A session with the Australia A team was a fascinating experience for Walkerston Cricket Club president Lance Ryan and his two sons Flynn, 11, and Austin, 17.

An excited Lance and sons along with fellow Walkerston juniors Riley Bourke, Lachlan Bath and Aiden Loader were thrilled to meet rising keeper batsman Josh Philippe.

Ryan senior plays third grade for Walkerston and Masters Cricket and has served as Club President for the past two summers.

Flynn, who will represent the Coastal Marlins Under 12s in the Junior BPL Twenty20 Challenge during the September school holidays, recently smashed 122 off 62 balls in the Mackay Junior Winter Whack.

He will be joined at the Under 12s BPL by club mate Bath, who will line up for the Northern Kings.

This week’s four day and limited overs fixtures are poised to deliver memorable moments for cricket enthusiasts and fans alike.

Mackay and the surrounding regions are abuzz with excitement, as the teams gear up to showcase their talent and sportsmanship on the field. This cricket spectacle not only celebrates the sport but also fosters a strong sense of community among residents and supporters.

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Photo credit: Cherrie Hughes

Ryan Family: Lance Ryan with sons, Flynn and Austin. Photo credit: Chris Karas

On Wednesday, August 30, North Mackay Bowls Club Ladies played their club selected 3 Bowls Triples Competition.

It was a wonderful turn out with 42 eager ladies competing.

The eventual winners after three games played were June Cousen, Maryann Bartolo and Deb Mackenzie.

Runners up, very close behind them were Lurline Ford, Bev McDonald and Anne Smith.

North Mackay’s Champion of Champion 4’s team, consisting of Marie Bragg, Christine Hall, Michele Stockton and Nuggy Pratt, travelled all the way to Longreach over the August 26-27 weekend to compete in the playoffs in this year’s Zone Final, and won all their games and the final game to come home the winners.

A massive congratulations to all four Ladies, from the club , and I’m sure most of the clubs in our district as well.

Contributed by Suzanne Hazledine

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Champion of Champion 4’s zone finalists. L-R  Chris Hall, Michele Stockton, Marie Bragg and Nuggy Pratt

Mavericks Prepare For Season Opener, First Home Game

A round two Reef Bowl replay at home is one of the many highlights in the Mackay Maverick’s 2023/24 season schedule, kicking off in October.

The Mavericks went down to the Townsville Cyclones in last season's ultimate decider and the local team are looking forward to bringing the game back to Mackay fans.

The round two clash will headline a triple header at Western Suburbs Leagues Club on October 28, with all six north and central Queensland teams playing in Mackay on the day.

But, ahead of the season opener, Mavericks coach Brad Sommerville is focused on preseason preparations.

“Preseason is all about learning our game plan and the way we want to play and then heading up to the start of the season, we’ll focus in on round one and who we’re playing there,” he said.

“The boys have been training for quite a while now, we started training a few months ago, so we’re all ready to go for our season opener.”

The growth of gridiron in Mackay has seen new members join the squad, some more familiar with the game than others, and Mr Somerville is hopeful for the season ahead.

“We have quite a few players who turn up without knowing the game,” he said.

“They might’ve seen a few games on TV and know the basics but not the many, many, many rules we have.

“It takes a little bit to get them across the line but so far they’re all looking sharp and ready to go.”

The Mavericks have also announced a training/come and try session in Moranbah, both to accommodate the Bowen Basin-based players and to give the town a taste of American football.

The Mackay squad will open their season on October 21 against Mulgrave Vikings in Townsville before their first home game at Western Suburbs Leagues Club on October 28.

“We’re hoping to bring a fun and festive atmosphere this year, hopefully very similar to what college football is like in the states with some pre-game and half-time entertainment, some pumping music and hopefully a lot of local supporters there to cheer us on,” Mr Somerville said.

Visit Mackay Gridiron on Facebook for more information.

Mackay Mavericks Home Games

October 28, 2023 vs Townsville Cyclones (triple header)

November 18, 2023 vs Rockhampton Wolverines

January 20, 2024 vs Townsville Cyclones

January 27, 2024 vs Rockhampton Wolverines

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Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday night fixtures August 29, 2023:

Division 1:

Tibhar (Vince Boeske, Steven Whiting, Tim Sheehan) d Andro (Robbie Richards, Barry Patterson, George Camilleri) 8-3. Steven d Barry 12, -12, 8, -9, 10.

Radak (Graham Brake, Mick Ruhl, Lee Brake) d Donic (Anne Sheridan, Ian McKay, Ivan Perkins) 8-3. Mick/Lee d Anne/Ivan 6, -5, -8, 12, 5.

Joola (Andrew McHugh, Geoff Denman, Janice Kent) d Butterfly (Graeme Walker, Emma Widdup, Allan Edwards) 6-5. Geoff d Emma -11, 10, -8, 9, 9.

Division 2:

Yasaka (Andrea Nicholson, Peter Goodson, Noreen Fredericksen) d Victas (Steve Crocker, Mark Sleeman, Steve Mathieson) 6-5. Noreen d Steve C -7, 6, 7, -10, 7.

Nittaku (John McGee, David Ting, Will VanDeKaa) d Xiom (Duncan Treloar, Ishan Rana, Duncan Sheridan) 6-5. David d Duncan -6, 8, -6, 6, 7.

Stiga (Tony Bowman, Donna Abbott, Leo Gilbert) d Gewo (Trent Day, Matthew West) 10-1. Leo d Matthew -8, 12, -8, 6, 8.

Division 3:

Delta (Saisha Palod, Val Austin) d Zeta (David Symons, Bill Hey) 5-4. Val/Saisha d David/Bill -16, 6, -7, 3, 9.

Alpha (Ollie Hamelink, Rymer Tabulo, Misha Palod) d Epsilon (Daniel Warfield, Alok Rana) Daniel d Rymer 9, 7, -5, -11, 4.

Tuesday morning Mackay Table Tennis annual championships results:

A grade: Branko Vucurovic, r/u Tony Bowman. Doubles George Camilleri/Mike Ibbotson, r/u Branko Vucurovic, Peter Goodson.

Reserve grade: Marie Taylor; r/u Louise Gould. Doubles Robyn Bushell, Marie Taylor; r/u Iris Grasso, Cheryl Pearson.

Contributed by Charlie Payne

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Cheryl Pearson and Sharon Muller do battle in the Tuesday morning table tennis annual tournament. Photo credit: Charlie Payne