Sunday was the Clubs 18-hole stableford championships.

It was Nathan Boys who succeeded to win the trophy with 41 points while Brad Low came in second with 40 points, and James (Jimmy) Millar in third with 36.

For the ladies it was Bree Harvey and Paula Wronski. Nearest the Pin winners were Brayden Davies and Nathan Boys.

The weekly 9-hole competition was won by Terry Kimpton with 22 points, then Tyson Flavel on 21 and Tim Walton with 19 points on a countback win.

The Friday 9-hole was also won by Terry Kimpton with 22 points, Brad Low as second with 20 points, and Tim Harris and Elise Hodgson both scoring 19. Tim taking the third place on the count back.

On Thursday the club held a special 18-hole stableford competition before Sunday’s Monthly Medal fixture.

Contributed with thanks to Kate Cross

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Last Tuesday, Proserpine Veteran Golfers played Pioneer Valley in a round of the Crocker Shield.

With 53 players out representing clubs from the Valley, as well as Proserpine, it was going to be a tough day. But, the Proserpine side took the points home with them in the end - 282 to 239.  

With one more round to go, Proserpine are leading the Crocker shield by 91 points.  

The ladies’ winner was Tina Badenhorst with 37 points followed by Jenny Hounsell, 36, and in the rundown Paula McQuat, 34.  

The men’s winner was Barry Shuwalow with 38 points, followed by John Roser, 35, and in the rundown Peter Fox, 34.  

Nearest the pin winners were Frank Moloney, George Oddy, Ron Gaucci, Paul Tilse , Anna Winterbourn, Jenny Hounsell, and Mandy Patterson.

Contributed with thanks to Paula McQuat

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Double bogies on the last two holes eventually cost Trish McNeill and Andrew Colborne the Club Foursomes title when they ended up playing Tiina Randmae and Lew Tuck in a sudden death playoff.

In a scrappy affair, Lew and Tiina won on the second hole.

Both teams finished the 27 holes with 128 gross.

In third place were Thomas Rimene and Leanne Alexander with 135 gross.

The nett winners were Ross McNeill and Noelene Spurway, 97, from Craig Smith and Tessa Aitken 100. Joanne Moynihan and George Meharry were in third with 103.5.

Saturday’s Monthly Medal saw David Telford the overall and C grade winner in the men’s with 67 nett.

The A grade winner was Allen Roberts with 68, from Mat Bower 70, and the B grade was taken out by Gary Scotford 69, from Phil Batty, 70.

Corey Stroud was the C grade runner up with 71 on a count back.

The ladies’ monthly medal winner was Heather Luvis with 71 nett, on a count back from Ann Gardel.

On Thursday, the men played a stableford in conjunction with a 4BBB.

The stableford was won by John Grosskreutz with 40 points from Jim Cochrane with 38 on a count back.

The 4BBB winners were Ken Granger and Jim Cochrane with 45 points, on a count back from Andrew Colborne and Lew Tuck.

Vickie Wallace was the Wednesday ladies’ winner with 40 stableford points, from Robyn Witham, 38, and Vicki Tuck 26.

Contributed with thanks to Peter Lewis

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Wednesday’s competition at Bowen Golf Club was a single stableford event sponsored by the club itself.

Ladies’ winner was Wendy Tracey, 38 points, runner up Grace Nott, 37.  Men’s winner James Miller 42pts, runner up on a countback David Carus 41pts.

Pin shots to Lisa Raisbeck, Bev Lowcock, Debbie Breeze, and Morag Parker with an OBP.  

Saturday, the Club played a single stableford sponsored by patron Margaret Whyte.

Ladies’ winner Lisa Raisbeck, 42 points; second place to Ruth Dunn, 39, and third place to Penny Stewart, also 39.

Pin shots to Lisa Raisbeck, Julie May, Lorraine McArthur, and Judy Atkins. Penny Stewart with an OBP.

Men’s winner was Brian Martin, 41 points, while second place went to Matthew Yasso, 39, and third place to Greg Carlyon, 37.  

Pin shots to Graham Seaborne, Ray Sellen, and Andrew Menzies, while Brendan Malone won the Car Wash voucher.  Robert Byles had an eagle on hole 14.  

Accuracy drives to Jo Goldup, Helen Fellows, Debbie Breeze, Brian Martin, Perry Layton, and Reg Goldup.  Bradmans was won by Leanne Swan and Andrew Menzies.

This weekend’s competition is a single stableford event sponsored by Bowen Golf Club.  

Contributed with thanks to Grace Nott

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The Wangaratta team of Denise Wallace, Margaret Wilson, Penny Warren, and Fely Duncan competed at South Townsville Bowls Club for four days in the prestigious Premier Cup competition last week.

They faced off against teams from 10 other District Clubs across Bowen, Ayr, Brandon, Alligator Creek, Ingham, Noorla, Jubilee, Suburban, Thuringowa, and South Townsville.

The Wangaratta ladies team led graciously and fought back with determination when they had to in their fixtures, coming away with nine wins from 10 wins with a margin of 151.

After claiming the trophy, Margaret and the team thanked the District Match Committee for such a successfully run tournament and invited all district clubs to travel to Wangaratta Club in Bowen in 2023.

As part of winning the cup, Wangaratta also gains hosting rights for the next year.

The club’s Monday triples competition has now finished for the year with winners Eileen Dunn, Virginia, and Tim Noar defeating Leon Fox, B Lampard, and Ian Best.

Tuesday social bowls winners were Deb Retchless, Bill Parker, and David Madden, who defeated Judy Christie, Colleen Christopher, and Pearl Aykens.

Contributed with thanks to Penny Warren

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As the weather heats up, the days get longer and the bowls get more scintillating.

Monday and Tuesday: Airlie Beach Bowls Club welcomed over 130 students from Cannonvale Public school.

Club coach Mark Mawson organised with Ladda Purdie, John Brown, John Askew, Betty Whitehorn, and Col Morris to all help supervise and teach the art of lawn Bowls. Each child received tuition and a frozen fruity pole for their participation.

Tuesday: Lane Telford skippered John Brown at lead and Tess Walker at second to beat all comers for the prize money.

Wednesday: A surprise result with the school competition girls winner Demika teamed up with Mark Mawson to take the prize money.

Wednesday Business House Bowls: To recommence on Wednesday, October 5.

Saturday: The finals of the winter Scroungers competition with Alan Pershouse, Ladda Purdie, and Russell Jackson fighting for the final prize money. Ladda Purdie broke away from the boys for a comfortable win.

This weekend Harry Quod went to Mackay for the B Grade Championship and finished a credible third.

Warren Mills, Luke Kinnear, and David Diaz finished a very creditable second in the Championship of 3 bowl triples.

Sunday Social Bowls: 21 bowlers vied for the prize. Big winners of the day were Lyn Graham with new bowler Janet Jacometti, and Bobby Ward.

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson

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Fred Quod is celebrating 27 consecutive weeks of top picks as he prepares to head to the National Rugby League grand final on Sunday, October 2.

The Blast H20 owner finished Mackay and Whitsunday Life newspaper’s Footy Tipping Comp in the top spot with a more than impressive score of 142.

His winning points tally saw him collect the prize of $1500 dollars and two tickets to the NRL Grand Final at Accor Stadium, Sydney.

Fred credited his excellent tipping form – in his first ever tipping competition – with having played rugby league himself as a young buck.

“It was knowing what teams can do, over the years following the competition, seeing who’s popular, who the coach is, and who the coach is not; they lose the coaches pretty quick!” Fred laughed.

“But it’s the form guide, injuries to gun players, dropping them out of the equation and not picking them.”

Unlike some tippers, Fred said he wasn’t a stats man, it was “all just intuition”.

“The big difference was that I’d played rugby league, but I took to it with due diligence; I focused on it and it paid dividends in the end. I wanted to get it right,” Fred said.

“I had a perfect round, some sevens out of eight, and I just really enjoyed myself; it was good fun.”

An enormous North Queensland Cowboys fan, Fred is hoping his boys can get up so he can celebrate them lifting the trophy this year with front row seats.

Fred said he’ll be taking his daughter, Alyce, who lives in Albion Park, south of Wollongong, to the final.

If you would like to be part of the Footy Tipping Competition next year call Mike McCann on 0427 897 960. Spots are going fast, so get in quick to reserve your place.

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On the weekend, nine Cannonvale Cannons participated in the SNQ Relay Supremacy event held in Townsville.

SNQ Captains Jy Parkinson and Hayley Andrejic guided their teams through various relay challenges.  

Jy’s team, Jy’s Jets was comprised of Jacob Bell, Lochlan Jamieson, Ehsan Helou, and Anisa Helou. Hayley’s team, Hayley’s Comets, were Tiana Bell, Remy Hedges, Shantelle Short, and Holly Perrin.

The scores were very close - 101 to 103 - with Hayley’s Comets pipping it by two points in the end.

The Cannons hosted another fun Club Night on Wednesday where Club Secretary, Giselle Burton presented Jasmine Gerlofsma with the Swim Star Award based on her “cracking 50m Freestyle swim”.  

Giselle also presented Upgrade Certificates to Levi Smith, Jasmine Gerlofsma, Lily Maher, Celeste Orenshaw, Isaac Pisaniello, Lilah Mewha, Piper Walker, and Indi Smith.  Ehsan Helou and Levi Smith were presented with the Chocolate Awards for best personal bests.  

The coaches, Mark Erickson and Ken Crittenden were very excited by standard of swimming at Club Night.  

Isabella Pisaniello had a very successful night swimming four personal best swims, and an awesome 100-metre IM in 1.39.53 which was a 22.75 second personal best.

Isabella’s brother, Isaac also swam extremely well, swimming three personal bests. His 50-metre Butterfly saw him improve on his previous best the most, swimming a 52.98 second 50-metre.

Shailee Mewha and Jack Ganter had a cracking Club Night, achieving three personal bests.  

Shailee swam a super 50-metre Breaststroke in 58.74 seconds, and one of Jack’s best swims was his 200-metre IM, which he swam in 3.06.29.

Jack’s brother, Thomas swam an excellent 200-metre Freestyle in 2.55.78 – an 8.52 second personal nest.  Lily Maher swam a super 100-metre IM in a time of 1.49.83 - a 9.88 second personal best.

The club extends its thanks to all the volunteers and parents for their support. Club Nights will continue over the school holidays.

Contributed with thanks to Raylene Rasmussen

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The Proserpine Junior Sportspark came alive with brightly coloured jerseys and thousands of families setting up camp for the weekend, when the Paul Bowman Carnival came to town, attracting 75 players from across the state.

Councillor Al Grundy said that with no declared winner of the tournament, the event is set up to promote participation and sportsmanship for the formative years of under nine competition.

“It’s about getting the kids involved!” he said.

“And it was so nice to see so many people coming from so far away and travelling from all over the state.

“The whole event went really well – it was so well organised and the volunteers did a fantastic job. The people think it’s really amazing and it was lovely to hear them all saying thank you.”

Cowboy players Heilum Luki and Mitch Dunn both said they were thrilled to see such a great following for the event.

“It reminds me of going to this sort of carnival when I was younger and now they are all coming to see me!” said Heilum.

Coordinator Kim Bates said she was proud of all the organising committee and volunteers.

“It gets better every year, it’s wonderful for the whole community and we always do it for love!”

Kate Clark, Manager of the Whitsunday Brahmans under-nine team said it was awesome seeing everyone gather for the kids.

“Everyone played their best and showed really good sportsmanship,” she said.

Image: 75 teams from across the state played at the Paul Bowman Challenge over the weekend

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Nine of the Whitsundays top distance competitors headed south for the gruelling Sunshine Coast Half Ironman earlier this month, representing the region in perfect fashion on a world class course.

Whitsunday Triathlon Club members competed in the extreme form of triathlons which tasks them with completing a 1.9-kilometre swim, 90-kilometre cycle, and 21.1-kilometre run around Mooloolaba’s spectacular coastline and hinterland.

The nervous energy was aplenty on the Saturday registration day for the race, as the Whitsunday competitors racked their bikes alongside hundreds of others.

Over 1488 individual participants registered in all age groups, some in teams, but most out to test their own stamina and endurance. Saturday was a day of rest, reflection and carbohydrate loading for the nine local athletes.

It kicked off with the swim - a rolling start in waves of colourful caps as the sun came up over Mooloolaba’s stunning surf beach.

Following up was the bike course, which headed out onto the Sunshine Motorway on a fast, smooth surface, and then the run, which took competitors along the Iconic Mooloolaba boardwalk and Esplanade with picture perfect views.

The nine Whitsunday racers were relieved to see the finish arch as they headed back onto Beach Terrace where welcoming sustenance, massages and recovery tents awaited them.

The Whitsunday Triathlon Club members not only represented the club by completing the race, but by finish with some amazing times

Chief among them was Airlie Beach local and Hamilton Island firefighter Daniel McDonnell, who placed 20 overall with a time of 3 hours, 48 minutes and 44 seconds putting him on the Podium as third in his Age group of 18-24

Others who smashed the race and claimed a personal best time were Fraser Lyon in four hours and 15 minutes, Julia Wheway in five hours and 38 minutes, Shane Bellert with four hours and 57 minutes, Craig Langevad in six hours and 40 minutes, Mark McConkey in six hours and 21 minutes, and finally Alisha Rust in five hours and 17 minutes.

Whitsunday Triathlon Club also hosted a team: the Chipmuncks, comprised of Karen Maddock (swim and run) and Robyn Corrigan (cycle), who finished in six hours and 43 minutes.

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Saturday saw the Whitsunday Sea Eagles hold their 2022 Season Club Presentations celebrating a brilliant year on what was a superb day.

2022 saw Sea Eagles Under 17s and Under 12s play in Grand Finals doing a great job for the Club against stronger opposition.

Senior Men and Under 14s made Preliminary Finals, coming third in their respective grades, while Senior Women celebrated their growing skill development with a few more wins on the board.

Young Sea Eagle Aidan Allen-Fancke went back-to-back in the Under 17s AFLQ Mackay League Best & Fairest, and Sea Eagles look forward to seeing what he can do with his talented future.

Remaining teams saw many votes across the League to end a year of achievements for a relatively small but growing Whitsunday Australian Football Club.

Whitsunday Sea Eagles Senior Men’s Best and Fairest went to Brent Downie who consistently works hard around the ground. Runner up was Ryan Lee, who had another skilful year until injury took him out of the running through the season, whilst Leading goalkicker Sam Keating was a reliable set of hands in front of goals for the second year running.

Senior Women Best and Fairest was taken out by Cleo Dickie, who also scored some votes in the League Best and Fairest. Runner up was the ever-reliable Grace Bell.

Under 17s Best and Fairest Aidan Allen-Fancke once again doubled up from the League medal in what was another stunning year for the young gun. Runner up was Jordan Daniels, who was outstanding around the ground, and Leading goalkicker with 33 goals went to Brodan Cornwall.

Under 14s Best and Fairest went to Zavier Goswell with Runner up Blake Hanks. Under 14s Female Player of the Year went to Charlotte Fleming, while leading goalkicker with a whopping 38 was Cody Love.

Under 12s Best and Fairest was so close votes could not separate them, shared between Lochlan Jeffries and Tyson Fowler. Not far behind was runner up Reef Weller with these top three also tying for the Players Player award. Leading goalkicker Sterling Rogan-Hamilton managed 13 for the season.

The perpetual Cody Gibbs Memorial Trophy was unveiled to be awarded to a Club member who showed they were Resilient, Courageous, Selfless and Respectful. The deserving recipient of the Cody Gibbs Memorial Trophy this year for resilience and courage throughout ongoing injuries, loyal support of the Club and support to Cody throughout his battle, was Oxsen Prosser.

Sea Eagles would like to thank their Sponsors and the community for their amazing support this year for AFL in the Whitsundays and look forward to seeing you for AFL Mackay Preseason Carnival in March 2023.

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Over an eight-week training regime, participants from Base 51 Functional Fitness challenged themselves to gain muscle and lose weight for the chance to nab a cash prize of a thousand dollars.

With a combination of personal training and dieting, the eight-week challenge winner and “$1000 Dollar Man” was Paul Douthwaite, who pulled off some staggering results.

Paul’s outcome was a loss of 10 kilograms of Body Fat – dropping him down to 8.7 per cent body fat – and a gain of six kilograms of lean muscle mass.

Base 51 Head Trainer John Russolillo said he was astounded by Paul’s “legendary results”.

“The effort, showing up every day, consistency and a good program is what gets those kinds of results,” John said.

“It’s testament to both the training of Base and to Paul’s commitment.”

Paul, who took part in Base 51’s Elite Squad small group personal training as well, attributed his success to a few factors.

“My body has changed dramatically in the time I’ve been training. I couldn’t even do a push-up at the start and now I’m kicking goals everywhere,” Paul said.

“I’ve been to plenty of gyms and lasted a few weeks, but here it captured my attention. There’s a family there and that’s a real appeal – you see the same faces every week and you get to know each other.

“We were all working together towards a goal and that helps you form bonds. The training and making sure you’re working out with the right form helps massively. It’s helped me get back into my running, which I haven’t done for two or three years.

“Being able to work out alongside my wife and my son now is really the biggest reward. And my golf is at a different level now, so I have to thank John and Base 51 for all of that.”

Paul is now being affectionately known at the gym as the “$1000 Dollar Man” and plans to take part in another challenge – although he’s not expecting to lose another 10-kilograms.

Image1: Winner, winner chicken dinner for Paul Douthwaite as heclaimed a $1000 dollar prize in the Base 51 Functional Fitness Eight-WeekChallenge

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Grand Final Day, Saturday, September 17: With two teams in Grand Finals for the first time ever, Whitsunday United Supporters were buzzing with excitement whilst players nervously waited for the action to start.

With the U14 Premiers side playing early in the day and a supporter bus organised for the Premier Men, the tangerine machine was going to be out on force and vocal on the sidelines.

The U14 Premiers took to the field focussed, ready to play and determined to add the Grand Final Trophy to their collection. Unfortunately, lady luck was not wearing orange on Saturday morning and despite one of their best performance all year, the young Whitsunday side fell short of a win.

They started strong, and despite running into a tough headwind, were equal to everything the Crusaders threw at them. The Mackay side scored first and Reef Peel returned the compliment with a great finish to equalise.

The arm wrestle continued till half time and the Whitsunday side was looking good with a 1-1 score and the wind at their back for the second half.

Against the run of play, Crusaders scored an early goal in the second half and despite being camped in front of the Crusaders goal, the Whitsunday side was unable to capitalise on several chances and went down in a nail-biting finish. A genuine contest between two string sides and the U14's have every right to be proud of the Minor Premiership they achieved in 2022.

As the evening drew on, the excitement built for the clash of the day. The matchup between arch rivals Whitsunday and Mackay Lions was eagerly anticipated by the large crowd of supporters and with their team favourite to win, the Whitsunday fans were in full song, adding to the electric atmosphere.

The anticipation was palpable.

After a stellar year in which the Whitsunday Premier Men took out the Minor Premiership, The Championship was within their grasp for the first time ever.

From the opening whistle, the crowd was treated to a fast and physical opening to the match with both sides determined to dominate early, and Lions knowing that a front running Whitsunday side would be impossible to catch.

To the Whitsunday crowd raucous delight it took only 7 minutes for their side to draw first blood through a brilliant strike by Tommy Torzsok off a Ben Smith pass. It was a dream start to the game and Whitsunday started to dominate play with their speed and precision. Scott Ferries and Tommy Torzsok controlling the middle whilst Ben Smith caused havoc up front with a brilliant performance.

The second goal was only 12 minutes later as Harry Hodgen drove forward down the left wing working towards goal, beating his man and cutting back a perfect ball for Francisco Puentes to drive into the net. With a two-goal lead, the Whitsunday freight train was on a roll and continued to pile on the pressure. With only minutes to go in the first half, a perfect Ben Smith long range free kick found the net again but was disallowed.

It didn’t take long for Whitsunday to seal the game in the second half, with Marty Goodey charging down the left-hand side, beating several players and feeding a beautiful ball to Ben Smith who calmly slotted it past the keeper. Players and supporters both went wild with pandemonium breaking out in the technical area with coaches, official, subs and players embracing.

Player awards after the match included Harry Hodgen with the Golden Boot award and Scott Ferries the league’s season MVP. A well-deserved and popular win to top off a great year for Whitsunday.

With the Premier Men leading the way, and strength through all age groups, Whitsunday United is looking forward to 2023 already and is aiming to be the major force in the regional football league for many years to come.

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Infront of a huge crowd at BB Print Stadium, the Bowen Mudcrabs faced off against their closest rivals, the Proserpine Whitsunday Raiders, in a grand-final matchup with extreme bragging rights.

The question on the region’s lips was whether the pincer would be mightier than the sword when the two sides met for the Mackay Rugby Union final on Saturday – and there was only one certainty: it would be a tight affair.

Raiders had fought hard against Kuttabul the weekend before to make their claim in this final trophy game, with the Mudcrabs having taken a well-deserved break the week before, having already beaten Raiders to shoot straight through to the final game.

The Bowen side had served up Raiders their only loss in almost two seasons in that Major Semi-Final, leaving the Proserpine side with a point to prove coming into the game.

Each of their matchups in the season had been arguably some of the best games of Mackay Rugby Union played in years, and the pressure was mounting.

And this grand final did not disappoint; it was an instant classic.

Busloads of fans witnessed Bowen and Whitsunday players leave it all on the pitch, decked out in their supporter gear – one even dressed as a crab – and revelled in a rugby final that well exceeded the price of admission.

For the Bowen side’s supporters who made the three-hour trip down to the Sugar City, the petrol price was worth its weight in gold.

It was one of the most incredible final games the league has ever seen, with it heading right down to the wire with Casper Turner scoring for Bowen in the last 10 seconds to win it.

Muddies made history come the end of the 80 minutes, winning the final and ending their 41-year drought in the process, claiming their first ever league title with a 25 to 22 win against the Proserpine Whitsunday Raiders.

Coach Tom Anderson, whose father was one of the original Mudcrab founders of the club and was watching on the day, led the long, post-match celebrations that ran through into the early hours of Monday morning.

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The 14th annual Paul Bowman Challenge saw 5000 young footballers and their families, spread over 75 teams from as far afield as Mount Isa, attend the Proserpine Football grounds this weekend.

The Under 9’s two-day Rugby League carnival is held in the Whitsundays every year and over the weekend excited kids were queuing up in droves to meet their favourite sport stars, Cowboys players Heilum Luki and Mitch Dunn.

5000 Attend Paul Bowman Challenge

The Proserpine Junior Sportspark came alive with brightly coloured jerseys and thousands of families setting up camp for the weekend, when the Paul Bowman Carnival came to town, attracting 75 players from across the state.

Councillor Al Grundy said that with no declared winner of the tournament, the event is set up to promote participation and sportsmanship for the formative years of under nine competition.

“It’s about getting the kids involved!” he said.

“And it was so nice to see so many people coming from so far away and travelling from all over the state.

“The whole event went really well – it was so well organised and the volunteers did a fantastic job. The people think it’s really amazing and it was lovely to hear them all saying thank you.”

Cowboy players Heilum Luki and Mitch Dunn both said they were thrilled to see such a great following for the event.

“It reminds me of going to this sort of carnival when I was younger and now they are all coming to see me!” said Heilum.

Coordinator Kim Bates said she was proud of all the organising committee and volunteers.

“It gets better every year, it’s wonderful for the whole community and we always do it for love!”

Kate Clark, Manager of the Whitsunday Brahmans under-nine team said it was awesome seeing everyone gather for the kids.

“Everyone played their best and showed really good sportsmanship,” she said.

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