Celebrate Dual Challenge Titles

Aaron Payne Cup

North Queensland Cowboys bound half back Jaxon Purdue demonstrated his class as rugby league powerhouse St Patrick’s College completed a unique championship double last week in Townsville.

The famous Mackay sporting nursery unveiled several Cowboys’ stars of the future when they slammed Kirwan State High 32-10 to lift the Aaron Payne Cup premiership trophy at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Played as a curtain raiser to the NRL clash between the Cowboys and Cronulla Sharks, the St Patrick’s colts proved too strong for their rivals with playmaker Purdue showing local supporters his array of skills in a taste of things to come.

Purdue’s outstanding display earned him the Player of the Grand Final and Most Valuable Player of the competition awards and capped a memorable 24 hours for the college.

The previous day, St Patrick’s toppled Ignatius Park College 24-10 to clinch the Cowboys Challenge Shield at the Mackay Junior League Fields.

Both St Patrick’s teams etched their names in the record books by winning the prestigious North Queensland schoolboy competitions undefeated.

Ian Schifilliti’s first grade charges overcame an injury crisis to regain the Cup with Queensland Schoolboys reps Purdue and hooker Xavier Kerrisk leading the charge.

Cowboys fans would have marvelled at the performance of Purdue, who scored two of St Patrick’s six tries and created others to show why he is regarded one of the best young prospects in the State.

The talented half - along with the crafty Kerrisk, centre Will Shears and lock forward Kayne Smith - is contracted to the Cowboys and ready to take the leap into professional ranks in 2024.

Elusive winger Bailey Anderson also collected a try double with five eighth Bailey Venz and lock Kayne Smith grabbing four pointers as the St Patrick’s juggernaut dominated from the outset.

Goalkicking winger Hunter Harris completed the rout with three conversions.

Rising fullback Hayden Cumming, centres Shears and Tenzin Contor and wingers Anderson and Harris capitalised on the slick service from halves Purdue and Venz to launch many an attacking raid.

In the engine room it was young props Cohen Jackson and Tyler Shandiman, back rowers Diesel Costigan, Harrison Considine and lock forward Smith that paved the way with non-stop displays.

Coach Schifilliti saluted the efforts of his all-conquering unit, heaping special praise on interchange players Hudson Clark, Reece Morris, Will Whippy, Darcy Daly, Javen Ramsamy and Jake Bryan.

“This Grand Final victory means so much to the boys who have put in hours of hard toil to reclaim the trophy,” revealed Schifilliti.

“It was a magnificent team effort and a title triumph so thoroughly deserved,” he added.

The proud mentor also praised his coaching staff in Assistant Chad Buckby and trainers Shane Mau, Will Gilbert and Patrick Daly.

“Everyone contributed to this incredible Cup win” concluded Schifilliti.

St Patrick’s will now focus on winning the 2023 Queensland State Championship and square off with Emmaus College Rockhampton in a challenge that doubles as a National Schoolboys Cup State semi-final in Mackay this week.

Winner of this clash advances to the State Championship Final to play the winner of the Allan Langer Trophy showdown between Palm Beach-Currumbin State High and Ipswich State High for the Phil Hall Cup.

Cowboys Challenge

St Patrick’s College have regained the Cowboys Challenge Shield after toppling rivals Ignatius Park Townsville 24-10 in the 2023 trophy decider staged at the Mackay Junior League Fields.

Talented hooker and skipper Cooper Deguara was named the official Player of the Grand Final for his tireless two try effort in a mighty performance from the undefeated champions.

For coach Tom Gaviglio it was a deserved premiership in his first year at the helm - with the Shield triumph erasing the memories of last season’s heart breaking after-the-bell loss to Kirwan State High.

Emerging forwards Mark Morrow, Ryan John, Caleb O’Brien and Declan Grady turned in superb performances along with fullback Hamish Donohue, half back Adam McSherry, five eighth Cooper Cavell, centre Norm Campbell and winger Trae Cora.

Key moment in the match was John’s classic try-saving tackle on a flying Ignatius Park fullback Lincoln Baker with the Mackay boys leading 18-10.

St Patrick’s lost Queensland Under 15 Schoolboys prop Sam Anderson early in the match with a damaged knee but led 14-0 at the break following tries by Deguara, a rampaging Morrow and prop Kereama Gartner.

Utility Billy Cruden scored after the break to extend St Patrick’s lead before Ignatius Park hit back with two quick tries.

Deguara sealed victory with a smart try to cap a best-on-ground display.

St Patrick’s will now meet Dolphins Cup champions Emmaus College Rockhampton in a Queensland Regional Grand Final challenge.

By Chris Karas

‍

‍

St Patrick's College players and officials celebrate their Aaron Payne Cup rugby league championship triumph at Queensland Country Bank Stadium

St Patrick's and Queensland Schoolboys half back Jaxon Purdue received the official Player of the Grand Final and the competition's Most Valuable Player awards for his superb performances in 2023. Photo credit: Michelle Bettini

Mackay Cutters Head Coach Michael Comerford with St Patrick’s hooker and Player of the Grand Final Cooper Deguara (left) and boom forward Mark Morrow

Jubilant St Patrick’s College players and officials celebrate their Cowboys Challenge premiership win over Ignatius Park College

‍

The North Queensland Sportstar Awards nominations will close at midnight on Friday September 1.

With 11 categories to nominate into, and more than $18,000 up for grabs, there is something for every sports star, recognising achievements of individuals and players who put their very best into their sport.

North Queensland Sports Foundation director and Mackay Regional Council councillor Laurence Bonaventura said the planning committee has been pleased with the response so far.

“We’ve received a good response from the North Queensland region with almost 100 nominations received to date,” Cr Bonaventura said.

“There are some key areas though where we are still chasing more nominations, including the team sports categories, service to sport and senior sporting categories,” he said.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our local sporting heroes to be recognised in their hometown, so I encourage everyone to take the time to nominate Mackay region individuals and teams who have performed exceptionally at their sport.”

The 11 categories include:

• NQ Sportstar of the Year.

• NQ Rural and Remote Sportstar of the Year.

• Junior Sportstar of the Year.

• NQ Junior Rural and Remote Sportstar of the Year.

• Athlete with Disability Sportstar of the Year.

• Sports Team of the Year.

• Junior Sports Team of the Year.

• Masters Sportstar of the Year.

• Volunteer of the Year.

• NQ Service to Sport.

• Sporting Excellence Award.

‍

To Bring Home A Swag Of Medals

On the weekend of August 11-13, the Mackay Cyclones had nine athletes compete at the 2023 Hancock Prospecting Queensland Short Course Championships in Brisbane.

Over the course of the championships, the club achieved 26 top 10 spots, 50 out of 54 personal bests, five gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze.

Mackay Cyclones Swimming Club was given a ranking of 38th out of the 113 clubs in Queensland for the event.

It was some of the best results for the competing kids who trained hard in the lead up to these championships, their hard work achieving them some huge personal bests.

Coach of Mackay Cyclones Leigh-Anne Pokarier said all athletes stepped up to "next level racing ", as personal best times were not just beaten, they were smashed.

The team culminated everything that was worked on leading into the state event and put it on display to perfection.

Competing at the championships was Max Vernon, 15, 14-year-olds Jarek Taylor, Vaughn Wyatt, Mackenzie Neilson, Anneka O'Donnell and Izabella Wills, 12-year-olds Kaiden Neilsen and Jessica Britton and Dakota Daniel, 11.

Prior to the event, Izabella Wills had been informed of her selection for the Matt Levy Inclusive Futures Scholarship, one of five prestigious scholarships meaning she has been identified as a future talent for the Paralympic pathway.

Read on to find out how each swimmer finished.

Izabella Wills - S10 Multiclass swimmer

5 x Gold Medals (50m and 100m backstroke and 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle)

Kaiden Neilsen

1 x Silver Medal (400m freestyle, breaking the North Queensland record)

2 x Bronze Medals (200m freestyle, 200m individual medley)

Top 10 finishes in 200m backstroke (4th), 100m butterfly (5th), 100m backstroke (7th) and 50m backstroke (10th)

Mackenzie Neilsen

1 x Silver Medal (200m butterfly)

Top 10 finishes in 100m butterfly (5th) and 200m individual medley (9th)

Dakota Daniel (at her first ever state short course meet)

1 x Silver Medal (200m individual medley)

Top 10 finishes in 100m freestyle (6th), 400m freestyle (7th), 50m freestyle (8th), 100m butterfly (9th) and 200m freestyle (9th)

Jarek Taylor

Top 10 finishes in 200m backstroke (9th), 100m backstroke (10th) and 50m backstroke (10th)

Vaughn Wyatt

Top 10 finishes in 200m breaststroke (8th)

Contributed by Alisha Ness

‍

‍

Back row L-R Anneka O’Donnell, Max Vernon, Vaughn Wyatt, Coach Leigh-Anne Pokarier, Front row L-R Jessica Britton, Mackenzie Neilsen, Dakota Daniel, Kaiden Neilsen, Izabella Wills

Kaiden Neilsen

Mackenzie Neilsen

Dakota Daniel

Izabella Wills

‍

Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday night results August 15, 2023:

Division 1:

Tibhar (Steven Whiting, Tim Sheehan, Vince Boeske) d Donic (Tony Bowman, Anne Sheridan, Ian McKay) 8-3. Tim d Ian 2, -9, -9, 4, 5.

Radak (Mick Ruhl, Lee Brake, Graham Brake) d Joola (Janice Kent, Andrew McHugh, Geoff Denman) 7-4. Mick d Andrew -10, 7, -9, 7, 10.

Butterfly (Emma Widdup, Allan Edwards, Graeme Walker) d Andro (George Camilleri, Robbie Richards, Barry Patterson) 8-3. Allan d George 6, 8, -7, 11.

Division 2:

Xiom (Duncan Sheridan, Duncan Treloar, Ishan Rana) d Victas (Mark Sleeman, Steve Mathieson, Steve Crocker) 7-4. Duncan T d Mark 8, 6, -14, -7, 6.

Stiga (Tony Bowman, Donna Abbott) d Nittaku (Will VenDeKaa, John McGee) 7-2. Tony d Will -6, -10, 7, 11, 8.

Gewo (Lily Boland, Matthew West, Trent Day) d Yasaka (Noreen Fredericksen, Andrea Nicholson, Peter Goodson) 9-2. Matthew d Peter -9, 7, 3, -6, 8.

Division 3:

Epsilon (Anaya Reelh, Jye Callander, Virginia Clayton) d Delta (Aarnav Reelh, Val Austin, Pawan Goti) 6-5. Anaya d Pawan -10, 3, -12, 8, 11.

Beta (Simoin Hogan, Nehmat Dhaliwal) drew Gamma (Craig VanDeKaa, Mark Stam) 4-all. Nahmat d Craig 7, 7, -10, -7, 7.

Alpha (Rymer Tabulo, Ollie Hamelink) d Zeta (Dave Symons, Bill Hey) 5-4. Rymer/Ollie d Bill/David -19, -6, 3, 7, 8.

Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday morning fixtures August 15, 2023:

Division 1:

Green (Charlie Payne, Pam Joyce, Noreen Fredericksen) d Yellow (Donna Abbott, Peter Goodson, Bryan Marshall) 7-5. Charlie/Pam d Donna/Peter 8, -3, 6, -12, 11.

Blue (George Camilleri, John McGee, Don Boettcher) d Red (Branko Vucurovic, Steve Mathieson, Kevin Abbott) 7-5. Steve d John -9, -9, 3, 5, 5.

Division 2:

Orange (Helen Ware, Cheryl Pearson, Gerry Synnott) d White (Kim Challender, Michael Ibbotson, Kim Daffy) 7-5. Kim C d Gerry -8, 12, 1, 12.

Purple (Iris Grasso, Ken Best, Judi Hicks) d Pink (Robyn Bushell, John Hamelink, Fred Saliba) 7-5. Ken d Robyn 8, 6, -9, -10, 5.

Division 3:

Tan (Madge Saunders, Bill Hey) d Grey (Ian Dodds, Allison Day) 5-4. Ian d Madge -9, -9, 11, 4, 9.

Aqua (Pam Keune, Glenda Dutton) d Lime (Carmel Cristaldi, Myles Dutton) 7-3. Glenda d Carmel 3, -3, 4, 5.

Contributed by Charlie Payne

‍

‍

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Kim Daffy and Marie Taylor in doubles action at Tuesday morning Mackay Table Tennis fixtures. Photo credit: Charlie Payne

‍

‍

Friday Fever

Coral Morgan wanted another avenue for people of all ages to play table tennis in a friendly, non-competitive environment, so she instigated the Friday morning social session at the Mackay Table Tennis Centre several years ago.

Coral is pictured fourth from left in front, with her daughter Delma Knight behind, and the happy group at last week’s session.

The session is open to players of all ages and standards, and equipment is available.

Coral is a life member of Mackay Table Tennis and has been involved in the sport for many years.

Drop in on a Friday morning and give it a try, you’ll enjoy it.

Contributed by Charlie Payne

‍

Friday morning social table tennis players. Photo supplied

‍

Social ladies bowls results for August 16, the winning team consisted of Helen Fleming, Bev McDonald and Carmel Bell.

Runners up were Sue Roscoe, Jan Comelli, and Doris Dodds.

Thursday had three finals played on the rinks at Goosies Sport and Recreation Club with some very exciting and closely contested games. The Under 70’s game was between Hilary Jones-Rowan and Donna Gordon.

Both ladies were keen on the green, but Hilary took out the win.

The final of the clubs Consistency Competition was very exciting to watch between Lois Deguara and Nuggy Pratt.

Very consistent bowls were needed to win this event and both ladies showed their prowess.

Lois Deguara was the eventual winner.

Contributed by Suanne Hazledine

‍

‍

Under 70’s L-R Winner Hilary Jones-Rowan and Donna Gordon

Over 70’s L-R Marie Duck and winner Pat O’Neill

Consistency L-R winner Lois Deguara and Nuggy Pratt. Photos supplied

‍

The racetrack came alive with thoroughbred competition and good-natured rivalry over the weekend with the annual Ben Bolt Cup.

Over 450 people came along for a fabulous day out, which featured five horse races.

Entertainment was as exciting on the track as it was off the track, with a host of activities that brought attendees together.

Many of the men participated in the tomato cart races while the women competed in the pumpkin races and the children enjoyed the hobby horse racing.

The next event on the Bowen Turf Club Calendar is the TAB Race Meet on Thursday, September 14, followed by the biggest showcase of the year – the Bowen Cup – which is due to take place on Saturday, October 14.

Results from the Ben Bolt Cup:

Race 1 - Maiden Plate 1000 metres

Lesotho Diamond

Time: 59.10 seconds

Margins: 3 lengths x 3/4 length

Race 2 - Filby's Motors

QTIS Benchmark 55 Handicap 1000m

Cudyado

Time: 58.54 seconds

Margins: neck x 1 length

Race 3 - Pilcher's Concrete

Benchmark 45 Handicap 1280m

Lightheadedness

Time: 1 minute 17.83 seconds

Margins: 1 1/4 lengths x 3/4 length

Race 4 - Hillery Group

Open Handicap 1280m

Valley of Dreams

Time: 1 minute 15.75 seconds

Margins: 1/2 neck x 1 length

Race 5 - Burdekin Vet Services

Ben Bolt Cup

Benchmark 65 Handicap 1470m

Higher Love

Time: 1 minute 28.60 seconds

Margins: neck x nose

‍

Winner of the Ben Bolt Cup

Winner of Race 4

Winner of Race 3

Winner of Race 2

Photo credit: Saskia Photography

‍

The annual Stonka Fishing Challenge 2023 was a huge success over the weekend, with hard competition and fantastic community spirit on show.

Featuring competitors across the region, and of any age and ability, the catches were impressive and triumphant for all.

Aside from the on-water comp, the event saw a wide variety of food stalls, bars, and live music at host venue Cape Gloucester Resort, as well as the tug-o-war and many other activities.

During the event, $12,000 in donations were gathered for the Leukaemia House in Townsville.

‍

Fierce competition at the annual Stonka Fishing Challenge. Photo credit: Facebook

As the days get longer and warmer and another spring is approaching our little club has had some amazing success and some wonderful events.

Last Tuesday we celebrated the life of our club patron Thelma Porter who died at the ripe old age of 105.

Thelma loved her bowls and played up to when she reached 100 years old and could've played on, and on Tuesday we all celebrated her long and full life with an event a wonderful turnout and her daughter Lane Telford put up the prize money for the first three winning teams.

Third place went to the team of Betty Whitehorn at skipper, with Eva McMahon whom returned to visit the club again and played brilliantly at second with Mark Mawson at lead.

Second best team on the day was ably led by skipper Tony Kelly whom with recently returned from her overseas tour and Maureen Barnard with Di Jackson.

Whilst the winners of the tournament were Tony Whitehorn at skipper with Lane Telford at second making her mother proud and the most impressive performance of the cheeky Dawn Dowell at lead, whilst Mark Mawson took home the prestigious Health Hub award. A great day was had by all.

The final of the Mens A Open singles was also played and it was Alan Pershouse with a fantastic exhibition of draw bowls beat a gallant Harry Quad in a nail biter and thus a new king was crowned, well done Alan.

Saturday morning Scroungers saw first round winners Betty Whitehorn, Karen Jensen, Ted Cullen and John Matterson, with Betty and John playing for the Round 7 prize in a close match it was John Matterson who took home the prize, with Mark Mawson the Group B winner.

Next Sunday afternoon will be the inaugural Memorial Day to celebrate the life of recently departed Nik Fernbach

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson.

‍

The winning team from Tuesdays Thelma Porter day Tony Whitehorn with Dawn Dowel and Lane Telford. Photo supplied

‍

Triples Finalised

This weekend Michael Kinnear competed in the Champion of Champion Singles at North Mackay.  

Michael, a previous winner of this event, was defeated by Graeme Blackburn from Wests Tigers.  

Peter Blackburn from Souths Suburban went on to win the event with Bruce Archer from Sarina being the runner up.

On Sunday the Men's Club Championship Triples were finalised.  

In the Semi Finals Harry Craig, Scott Hamilton (subbing for Isaac Elliott), and Jonathan Bye defeated Philip Brown (subbing for Warren Wilson), Bruce Uhe and Barry Zillmann 32 – 5.

Dale Haack, Shane Kinnear, and Wayne Handley defeated Kendall Watts, Gavin Noonan and Luchie Gardel 23 - 16.  

Sunday afternoon the Finals were played.  

Dale Haack, Shane Kinnear, and Wayne Handley defeated Harry Craig, Scott Hamilton, and Jonathan Bye 27 - 17.  

Wayne's team will now play Champion of Champions at Souths Suburban on September 9 and 10.

In Social bowls.  

On Wednesday we had visitors from Victoria join us for a game of bowls.  

Alen Sanderson, Christina B and Philip Brown defeated Arthur Griffith, John Anderson, and Pat Bownds 27 – 19.

Jim Bownds, Bruce Uhe, and Barry Zillmann defeated Lee King, Jim Chedwick, and Sandy Daffara 22 - 16.  

On Sunday we had a visitor from Port Pirie South Australia.  

John Anderson and Peter Lawton defeated John Burnett and Arthur Griffith 27 - 18;  Alen Sanderson, Philip Brown and Sandy Daffara defeated Lee King, Hugh Paterson and Kendall Watts 22 - 12.

Contributed with thanks to Heather Brown.

‍

We have great news to report.

The Wangaratta pairs team of Denise Wallace and Penny Warren played in the Nth Qld District Championships this past week.

After convincingly winning their section with three out of three wins and an aggregate of 25, they continued their good form during the week defeating teams in the quarter and semi-finals to reach the final on Saturday morning.

They continued on playing well to defeat the Thuringowa team of Jacinta Wallace and Bernadette Hay.

Winners for Monday afternoon triples were R Hayton, R Barr-Kemp, and K Armstrong who defeated J Steele, J Dawson, and G Wills.

On Tuesday winners were Dianne Hallis, Irene Laird, and Keith Armstrong who defeated Joe Verden, Keith S/Collins, and Lindsay Harris.

Winners for our Fun Friday afternoon were L Knight, C Bellingham, and B Bellingham who defeated A Vigar, C Heinrich, and A Pearson.

Sunday winners to claim the Crab trophy came out on Rink 2.

They were P Breakwell, H Donoghue, I Wheeler, and P Donoghue who defeated T Crozier, M Harvey, M Chappel, and A Rolfe.

There will be no Barefoot bowls this Friday due to a private function.

This Saturday Wangaratta will host the annual Combined Shield so if you have time come down to watch some good bowls.

Contributed with thanks to Penny Warren.

‍

Winners Of NQ Ladies District Championship Pairs - Denise Wallace & Penny Warren. Photo supplied

‍

Only 3 matches to report on this week, and just 1 match remaining between Dom Friend and Art McMinn before we finish off the league season, and kick into finals action.

Jamie Maher finished the league season strongly with a 7/2 victory over Andy Peel to end his campaign in 4th place.

It was an even game in the scoring department, but where Andy struggled finding his doubles, Jamie was clinical.

It’s been a tough season for Andy who finished the season in 8th place, but it’s a finals spot, and anything can happen in finals, especially when you are a previous champion.

Joe Wilson secured 2nd place in the league with a 7/2 win over Jayden Lloyd.

That will set up a mouth-watering clash with the defending Champion Dom Friend in the first week of finals, as Dom cannot improve on his current position of 3rd place.

Jayden will finish his season off by playing in the consolation finals series after finishing just outside the top 8, in 9th place.

Joining Jayden in the Hetlock Cup will be the debutant Hawkeye Rick after finishing his season with a 1 win and 18 loss record, one of which came at the hands of Jamie Woods this Sunday at the Airlie Beach Bowls Club by a scoreline of 7/1.

Rick showing steady improvement throughout the year and will be better for it going into next season.

That win over Rick means that Jamie Woods yet again claimed this year’s league title, but only by the finest of margins, courtesy of a better leg difference over Joe Wilson.

Unlucky to Joe, but a fantastic season regardless, and a big congratulations to Woodsy from everyone at the club, it’s a richly deserved league victory!

Thank you to our sponsors Mika Airlie, Whitsunday Tattooing Airlie Beach, and Master Butchers Whitsunday & MBW On the Barbie.

Contributed with thanks to Jamie Maher.

‍

L/R Jamie Maher and Andy Peel just before locking horns in the Premier League on Sunday morning. Photo supplied

‍

Highlight of the week was the hole in one by Trevor Nosworthy on Hole 2. Great way to start the round!

Jan Shuwalow beat all players on Tuesday with 39 points, Elspeth Scotford was runner-up and also secured the NTP.

Karl Kirkwood won the Men's competition with 38 pts, ahead of Col Hounsell.

NTP winners: Paul Gray, Peter Krause, and Barry Mortimer.

Elspeth continued her good form on Wednesday to take out the Airllywood Stableford ahead of Ann Gardel and Jan Shuwalow.

NTP's went to Rehab Hull and Ann Gardel.

The Thursday Division 1 winner was Ash Morley-Hart on 37 pts, ahead of Brian Allen also on 37 and Jon Miller on 36pts in 3rd place.

Joe Taylor topped the podium in Division 2 with 37 pts, also a countback with Ben Doer in 2nd place.

David Telford claimed 3rd place with 35pts.

NTP winners: Trevor Nosworthy (hole in one) Jon Miller, Yoko Fitton, and Fraser Simpson.

Jack Pirlo edged out Karlene Lloyd on a countback to win the Friday Met Run, and David Lloyd was the only NTP winner.

After the Club's AGM players headed out for the Saturday Stableford, Paula McQuat leading the ladies in with 38 pts, followed by Penny Wardroper on 35, and Nicole Cooper claiming 3rd place.

Dean Barnard was the winner of the men's competition with 39pts, on a countback from Adam Hagy and John Bissell in 3rd place with 37 pts.

NTP winners: Dean Barnard, Trish McNeill x 2, Brad Vloedmans, Mel Patullo and Mandy Patterson.

Don Cameron played well on Sunday to win the men's competition with 39 pts, with Terry Kimpton securing 2nd place on 35 pts. Robyn Whitham won the ladies with a scorching 40 pts, and Elise Hodgson was in 2nd place with 36 pts.

NTP winners: Nathan Holohan, Chris Bartlett, Scott Vlismas, Ben Raymant, Pauline Redpath and Diane Chard.

Contributed with thanks to the Proserpine Pro Shop Team.

‍

In his address to the members at Saturday’s AGM President Phil Batty said that the Proserpine Golf Club has yielded remarkable achievements and successes throughout the 2022- 2023 financial year.

It has been filled with significant milestones and growth in player numbers, events, and online social media presence, but most importantly, significant financial stability.  

Throughout the year the club’s consistent performance has exceeded all budget expectations.

“We have experienced a 51 per cent increase in revenue from $792,000 to $1.198 million, and a 645 per cent increase in Profit Increase from $27,000 to $205,000,” he said.

“In addition to the excellent financial result, we have paid out early all the outstanding equipment loans to clear the balance sheet of liabilities,” he continued.

The organisational benefit of a good result is that the club has tentatively secured financial support from our bankers to fund the purchase of equipment to take the course to another level.

The board is currently evaluating and investigating the purchase of a new fairway mower, rough areas mower and greens mower.

We have recently purchased a sand spreader which is already having a marked impact on the greens and course generally.

The Club has recently ordered ten new Yamaha buggies and traded six from our current fleet of buggies to increase the number of buggies from 20 to 23.

Membership and participation are the backbone of Proserpine Golf Club, and I am pleased to say that this financial year saw over 120 new members. That’s an increase in membership to over 400 members, many of whom came from the incentive program in December where new entrants to golf were introduced by current members with the three-month trial.

“Looking ahead, we are excited to build upon our accomplishments and continue to explore new avenues for growth, enhancing our digital presence and developing creative ways to engage our members and the community,” Mr. Batty concluded.

Contributed with thanks to Proserpine Golf Pro Shop.

‍

President of Proserpine Golf Club, Phil Batty. Photo supplied

‍

This week’s stableford 9-hole competition saw Edwina Pettiford in first place with 22 pts c/b, second place was Jack Hayes Williams with 22 pts and third with 20 pts was Josh Quin.

Fridays 9-hole stableford saw Elise Hodgson in first place with 24 pts, second place on 19 pts was Andrew Gomez and third place with 18 pts was Craig Kennedy. Great job by all.

On Sunday we held our 18-hole skins competition which saw Billy Blacker take the win with 13 skins, second place with 12 skins was Brad Low and third place with 9 skins was Josh Barnard.

Nearest the pin were Craig Kennedy and Dean Barnard.

This Sunday 27th August will be our monthly medal tee off at 10.00am, hope to see you all there.

Contributed with thanks to the Whitsunday Green Golf Course.

‍

Pictured: Andrew Gomez

‍

Junior Rugby Union Comp Of The Year

The coveted Viking Cup 10s is back on the calendar for the Whitsunday Junior Rugby Union club, with the competition already heating up.

Since its inception in 2012, the Viking Cup has welcomed many a player, and the club is expecting a massive increase in players and registrations for the 2023 carnival.

“It has evolved into what it is now, and it is regarded at the premier rugby event in our region,” explained Tim Oberg, the President of the Whitsunday Junior Rugby Union Club.

“We’ve extended our reach down to south Queensland, with hopes to expand the competition.”

This thrilling one day comp has been expanded for 2023, taking place Friday evening and into Saturday, for two huge days of eager and exciting rugby union.  

With mixed teams for children under 6s to under 12s, and gendered teams from 13 to 18, the competition is great for any player eager to give the sport a go.

“Now is the time to test out the sport in a fun day of rugby,” Tim said.

While also being aligned with the school holidays, the club has advantageously positioned the Cup to entice out-of-towners for a unique rugby carnival opportunity, in the heart of holiday central.

“We’re welcoming teams from Mackay, Emerald, and Townsville and excited to see more teams from further south, and even from interstate in future years,” said Tim.

“And hot on the heels of the Matildas at the World Cup, we are keen to have more girls get into the sport and in the Cup.”

To register or find out more about the Viking Cup, visit www.wjru.club/viking-cup

WHAT: Whitsunday Junior Rugby Union Viking Cup 10s

WHERE: Whitsunday Sportspark

WHEN: Friday 29 September and Saturday 30 September

‍

The Whitsunday Rugby Union teams training to take on the competition. Photo credit: Rachael Smith