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Youngsters shine in mountain bike national cup at New Italy
Byron second grade assured finals cricket despite loss
Over 90 riders competed in the two days of national cup tier 1 racing hosted by the Northern Rivers Dirty Wheels Mountain Bike Club at their New Italy track earlier this month. It was the first time the local club has hosted a national event that attracted riders from Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland and locally. Tier 1 is the highest level of competition organised by Mountain Biking Australia and plenty of spectators turned out to the see the skill and speed of some of the county’s top riders, treasurer of Dirty Wheels Nigel McDermott said. ‘It’s good exposure for the club and the local trails,’ he said. Ten locals were among the riders looking to accumulate points towards winning this year’s national championship. ‘Two of our junior riders, Darcy Harris and Hayley Oakes, won their very competitive categories. ‘Both are exceptionally talented and committed riders that deserve the results they are getting,’ Nigel said. Each race day over the weekend included different categories of riding for men and women and for ages
Syl Reid
Competitors accelerate away from the start line at the National Cup held at the New Italy circuit. Photo Hixit from seven years all the way up to mature masters. The club has 230 members but some were daunted by taking on some of the sport’s top riders, Nigel said. The 6.5 kilometre circular track at New Italy was in good condition for the ride and offered spectators plenty of vantage points. The club has also been busy looking after its new facility at Duck Creek near Alstonville that has 13 trails across almost nine kilometres of track. The new facility opened in December after two years of construction. The Duck Creek circuits
have more variety than New Italy and are more technically demanding. The club regularly holds race days for youngsters as well as social events and rides.
More success Dirty Wheels members Liam, Jethro and Tobi all had good results in round one of the Scenic Rim Enduro Series at Kooralbyn last weekend. Taking part in their first gravity enduro Liam took fifth place in the U/15s, while Tobi and Jethro managed second and third in the U/13s.
The Byron Bay Cellars second grade cricketers suffered a big loss to Cudgen on the weekend, but have booked a finals berth. The team have a bye next so last weekend’s game was effectively their last before the finals. Cudgen won the toss and batted first, but won the match with the ball in the second half of the game. The Moase brothers took four wickets each, getting plenty of movement through the air and off the deck. Cudgen got the game going by hitting 7/157 off their 40 overs with C Wilson getting a half century. Toby Schott was the best of the Byron bowlers with 3/15 off his 8 overs and Lachlan Whiteford secured 2/11 off 5 overs. Captain Matt Irwin got the other 2/18 runs off 7 overs. But Cudgen dominated the other bowlers for that run total. Byron’s run chase lasted 17 overs for an innings total of 62 runs all out. Peter Jackson got 16 runs in the middle order and Ryan McGuiness hit 12 runs. The rest didn’t make double figures in a disappointing result. But The Cellars seconds
30 hit the water for Lennox Longboarders Crystal Cylinders The Lennox Longboarders held their March club round on Sunday at Lennox Main beach with thirty members competing. Conditions were good to start but a strong NE wind kicked in later. A herd of grommets had an expression session at the halfway mark, bringing a smile to all their faces and those of the seniors looking on. Winning the day was Will Petrie, who handled the small conditions well and pulled off some good moves. Eleanor Robertson was the best in the ladies. There was also a welcome to new members, Brendan (dad) and Tasman Cahill.
Results Firsts: Will Petrie, Brendon Cahill, Rob Rye, John Eddy, Dan Naughton (did not surf
second round). Seconds: Matt Durkin, Jake Ryan, James Foster, Tasman Cahill, Emily Simmonds. Thirds: Eleanor Robertson, Jess Cohen, Tom O’Dwyer, Grant Ryan, Angus Gover. Fourths: Gary Alford, Greg Gover, Terry Kay, Una Durkin, Meg Smith (didn’t surf second round). Sixths: Andrew Thomas, Roz Brown, Veronica Silver, Luca Barriskill.
New for women On International Women’s Day the WSL announced a couple of new features they will be adding to their events. The first Championship Tour (CT) event to award equal prize money for women will take place this April in Queensland, where the WSL will also launch a global beachside
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A young Lennox surfer shows his style in the grommet round last weekend. Photo Veronica Silver engagement program for girls, called the Rising Tides – WSL Girls Program. At each women’s CT stop the WSL will offer clinics in order to inspire the next generation of female surfers. There will also be a new content series this year
called the WSL Heritage Series that will feature notable women in the sport – trailblazers, record-breakers and vanguard activists that have helped pave the way. The series will include well-known figures like Byron Shire’s Pauline Menacer.
Cudgen’s top scorer C Wilson faces Byron’s Brady Fuhrmann at Cudgen turf pitch last weekend. Photo Deb Milgate are firm in third spot on the ladder for the season. Others in the top four include: Lennox Head, Tintenbar-East Ballina and Terranora. Cudgen could make the finals if they win and Terranora lose next week. It is good to get a result like that out of the way with the semifinals commencing on Saturday week.
Thirds
The Byron Bay L J Hooker third graders played at home, won the toss, batted first and knocked up 153 runs off their 40 overs, but it
wasn’t enough against the Tintenbar East Ballina Fire. Jamie Whittaker scored 37 runs, Cam Thorne hit 28, Mark Mostert hit 20 and Jan Safranek (11 no) and Troy Berry (10) also contributed. TEB passed the total in 33 overs with four wickets down. Byron’s Reece Egan earned 2/34 with Peter Bailey and Lennox Bridle getting the other two wickets. The thirds play their last game of the year at Geoff Watt Oval at Alstonville against the Meandads.
Twilight cricket teams tussle as sprint to the finals heats up The finals of the Byron Bay Twilight Cricket competition will be played this Sunday March 17 after the final four teams are decided during the last round of games this week. TNR lost one game before Christmas and have stayed strong so should finish on top of the table, with the advantage that they go straight into the major final on Sunday. The Rip Starters have also looked strong but have lost their last two games, and if they lose again in their last game this Friday against a fired-up Kronnix, who also have plenty to play for, they could finish in third spot behind Eureka Grass. If Rip Starters win their last game they will hold on to second place. Eureka are odds on to beat the Loafers (currently on the bottom of the table) this week, so they should at least finish third. But the battle for the last finals position is far from
clear. The Bowlo, Kronnix and the Park Hotel are all capable of taking the spot depending on how results go. A count back is also on the cards if teams end up on equal points. As mentioned, Kronnix will have to overcome the Rip Starters. The Bowlo take on the Byron Brewery on Wednesday and have a good chance of winning after dusting up Kronnix last week. The Park Hotel are in the box seat as they have the bye this week and are assured the two crucial competition points. The team that makes fourth will play the first final against the third-placed team. The next final sees the winner of this game take on the second place getters for a shot of the table toppers in the major final. All the action at the Byron Bay Recreation Grounds from 10am.
March 13, 2019 The Byron Shire Echo 55