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Levi takes 300 wickets for Byron Bay Girl groms charge at Gold Coast Words and pic Anthony Smith
Levi Shouldice’s fifth wicket, on his last ball, in Byron Bay’s win against Terranora two weeks ago, put him on a hat trick but gave him his 300th wicket for the club. The feat made Levi the leading wicket taker in the Coastal League this season at age 47, after narrowly missing out on the title last year when Byron won the competition. Levi has 21 wickets so far this season at 15.6. Levi started his cricket career at 36 after taking himself to the nets most days of summer, for years, to practice his bowling. While he didn’t play junior cricket, his love for the game drew him to join Byron Bay fourth grade in 2009. It only took a few years for Levi to find his rhythm and start to regularly knock over sides, winning the bowling trophy for the competition before taking over the captaincy and winning the premiership title. Levi challenged himself by moving up into third grade where again, he continued
Crystal Cylinders
Levi has taken 300 wickets for the Byron Bay Cricket Club. what has been a remarkable run of eight consecutive final’s series. He captained the Byron thirds to the premership title and took home the most wickets trophy for that grade as well. When he was 45, Levi decided to take another challenge and moved up into the Coastal League, drawn by the higher standard and the prospect of playing every week on turf. Levi changed his style from an opening pace bowler to bowling slow seamers, to fill a need for his team. The style has been incredibly successful for Levi in the
higher grade with a bag of wickets helping drive Byron to the top of the table. But Levi is prouder of his key role in bringing through many juniors at the club who have been successful in the higher grades. Levi’s dedication has seen him take home the clubman of the year award, on a number of occasions. Levi’s message is the old adage that hard work and practise pay off, and that it is never too late to enjoy the game. Levi will have a chance to claim his hat trick this weekend.
Mitch Argent takes Australian woodchop title at Brunswick Heads The Brunswick Heads 60th annual Woodchop got in three days of good competition and decided an Australian title despite extreme temperatures, and torrential rain washing out the last day. ‘Early in the week it was very hot, but there was plenty of good competition and some brilliant chopping,’ treasurer of the Woodchip committee, Joy Slater said. ‘World Champion Laurence O’Toole was there, and the other members of the Australian team, and the other competitors all put in a good show,’ she said. The 372mm Standing Block Australian Championship was won by M Argent ahead of O’Toole, J Dingle and K Steers. The heat throughout the early days really tested the competitors who had to battle sweaty hands, heat stress and fitness issues. But after the huge downpour on Friday night the ground was just too wet for the event to go on. ‘We use tractors and other machines to carry the
Argent on his way to winning the National Title at brunswick Heads Woodchop last week. Photo Jeff Dawson logs and they would have destroyed the reserve,’ Joy said, ‘You couldn’t even push a wheelbarrow’.
Other results M Argent was named Men’s Champion while the Women’s Champion was share d between J Stratton and J Beutel. O’Toole also came second in the 375mm Jack and Jill, first in the 275mm Underhand, first in the Open 325mm Underhand
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Handicap and second in the Doublehanded Sawing Championship (with J Lentz). K Heaton won the Women’s Point Score (handicap) after coming first in the Jill Single Handed Sawing Championship, third in the Jill 275mm Underhand Championship, first in the Jill & Jill Doublehanded Sawing Championship (with J Beutel), first in the Sawing Championship and third in the Jill & Jill Doublehanded Sawing Championship.
Our local young female surfers were on fire last week with Lennox Head’s Ocea Curtis and Keke Brain along with Byron Bay’s Leihani Zoric all victorious at the Gold Coast leg of the Woolworths Surfer Grom Comps Series, which was held at the Southport Spit in clean 0.6–0.9 meter waves. Curtis managed to tear apart the left-handers on offer under the Seaway jetty to score an excellent 8.17 combined with a 5.5. for a heat total of 13.67 to take the win in the Girls U/12 division. Curtis was ecstatic as she rode a wave into the beach and was chaired by her fellow competitors. ‘The waves were pretty tough today,’ said Curtis. ‘But I had fun – I’m stoked to win today. Next I’m off to Hawaii for a holiday, so that should be fun.’ Brain won the Girls U/10
Ocea Curtis on her way to winning at Southport. Photo Ben Stagg/Surfing Queensland division in fine style with carving turns. Zoric won the U/8 mixed division and was also runner-up in the U/10 Girls division. Regarded as one of the major stepping stones in the development of young Australian surfers, the 10-event Woolworths Surfer Groms Comps series caters for
surfers from U/8 to U/14 and will be held in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and South Australia over summer. The series has helped to launch the careers of many of Australia’s most promising junior surfers with almost 800 children set to take part in the 2019/20 event series.
ƐĕƱëſƐ Ǖ ĪƐIJ Ķŕ LëƱëĶĶ Adaptive surfer Mark ‘Mono’ Stewart returned to Byron Bay early in the New Year after travelling to Hawaii to compete in the Haliewa International Open where he finished in fifth place. ‘The event was held at the Haliewa Reef in one-metre waves. The surf was inconsistent and I struggled to find two waves in the 15-minute semifinal where there was no priority system,’ Mono said. ‘I was disappointed with myself and finished fifth overall. The Haliewa International Open consisted of 13 categories catering for a range of surfers including U/13s, juniors, opens and grandmasters in both men’s and women’s, as well as an open adaptive category. ‘Mono’ was bested in his semi by Alcino Pirata who scored two good rides and then went on to win the final in similar style. But despite the result Mono still enjoyed the trip. ‘The real highlight was getting to watch the finals day of the WSL Pipeline event and getting to surf pumping Honalua Bay, in Maui. It was an amazing trip,’ Mono is not in town for long because he will be heading back to Hawaii to train for the ISA World Adaptive Championships in the USA, in March.
‘Mono’ Stewart in action at the Haliewa Open in late December. Photo @surfthewavephotography
`ëŕƖëſƷ ǩǩǽ ǩǧǩǧ The Byron Shire Echo 55