A Big Sporting Week

Monday, 21 September 2009 22:15

This week the focus has been on sport with numerous events and grand finals on including the presentation night for the AFL at Cazalys, the presentation night for Hockey, grand finals and presentation night for the Cairns District Rugby League; and the John Bomben Carnival for north Queensland's talented junior soccer players who have travelled from Weipa, Townsville, Mackay, Whitsundays, Burdekin and the Tablelands. I managed to get to all of these events and be overwhelmed again by the extraordinary voluntary input that keeps all these clubs going. It's not just the management committees but the people who staff the kiosks, the umpires, the coaches, the scorers, those who fundraise to send kids away to competitions, the businesses who sponsor various sports, the veterans who give back to the sport by encouraging juniors, the mums and dads who give up their time to enable their kids to participate. The Council does a huge amount to encourage and support sporting clubs with equipment and assistance with facilities and events from juniors through to the veterans. With the growth of our population over the past decade it's been hard to keep up with the demands from sporting associations. We have masterplans for sport in the north, city, Edmonton and Gordonvale areas and the challenge is to prioritise and implement these plans, and to try and make sure that ALL sports get some support. It's not an easy task.