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New and improved sports facilities in Rosebud By Ben Triandafillou MEMBERS of the Rosebud sporting community can look forward to a new sporting pavilion complex at Olympic Park Recreation Reserve, Rosebud. Council approved the tender for works on Tuesday 10 October and it is anticipated that construction will begin in January 2018 with hopes for it to be completed by September next year. The new single level pavilion has been designed to better meet the needs of local sporting groups and will include: six multipurpose change
rooms, unisex toilet and shower facilities, store rooms, a first aid room, accessible toilets and external public toilets. Contract works also include refurbishment of the existing social room office and toilets, a new scoring box, external landscaping, sealed vehicle parking (20 spaces), pedestrian paths and upgrading of utility services to the site. These works will be carried out as part of the council’s Sports Pavilion Strategy which requires facilities to meet current and future needs of the community and sporting clubs.
To minimise disruption to users and local sporting competitions, the existing sports pavilion social room will remain in operation for the duration of the building works. Portable change rooms, showers and toilets will also be provided to accommodate the clubs during competition times. The new building will feature sustainable design with durable materials and low energy lighting. Windows will be orientated for natural lighting and ventilation rather than using mechanical heating and cooling. Water savings will be achieved using water efficient taps and cisterns along with Tough players: 16-year-old Box Hill rugby player Thomas Klein competes at the Victorian Wheelchair Rugby Classic. Picture: Aaron Upson
Wheelchair rugby kicks off Frankston festival RIO 2016 Paralympic gold medallist’s opened this year’s Frankston Festival of Rugby with the intense, end-to-end Victorian Wheelchair Rugby Classic. For the first time in the Frankston Festival’s history, the Victorian Wheelchair Rugby Classic was played at the Frankston Basketball Centre, Seaford on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 October. With Australia currently ranked world number one in wheelchair rugby, the full contact sport attracted four Victorian teams as well as a New South Wales side. Disability Sport and Recreation wheelchair rugby officer, Jason Lees,
said the event gained great support and was highly competitive. “The event went really well and the team from NSW were really supportive of it and want to come back next year,” Lees said. “The Victorian Rugby Union has gotten behind us as well as the Frankston City Council to continue to run this event. “We want to make this something that grows and have it bigger and better next year to show what the sport is about. “We were really happy to put this event on in Frankston, and hopefully in the future more people will get out
and see the sport for what it is and enjoy it.” In the final, the Harlequins Rugby Club defeated the Unicorns 27-22, with Harlequins player, Matt Lewis, awarded most valuable player of the tournament. The Wheelchair Rugby Classic was contested by both males and females and didn’t have an age restriction. “The youngest player we probably had there was a 16-year-old Box Hill player, Thomas Klein. He’s been playing for 12 months and is still in high school,” Lees said. “If you’re good enough to play then you’ll get selected.”
water harvesting to reuse for toilet flushing. Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor councillor Bev Colomb said the shire is committed to improving the quality of our sporting pavilions for all. “It will be great to see the facilities revamped to improve conditions and meet current standards for unisex use”. Seawinds Ward councillor Antonella Celi said, “The Seawinds Ward Councillors have worked with Shire Officers and key stakeholders from Rosebud Senior and Junior Football, Cricket and Netball Clubs to ensure the best possible outcome for our
community”. Councillor Simon Brooks from the Seawinds Ward added, “Traction on these works is great news for our thriving sporting groups. Temporary portable change rooms have been in place for several years and it’s time for an upgrade”. Fellow Seawinds councillor Frank Martin concluded, “The Rosebud Football, Cricket and Netball Clubs have seen significant recent growth in female participation. These enhancements will help continue that trend and improve conditions for existing players”.
Basketballers take a shot at Southern Cross Challenge By Ben Triandafillou FRANKSTON and the Mornington Peninsula will have 15 junior basketballers competing in next year’s Southern Cross Challenge held at the State Basketball Centre, Wantirna South. Chosen from a series of selection camps across the year, the players will gain an insight into elite development and higher-level gameplay across the four-day tournament which begins Friday 19 January 2018. The Frankston Blues will have four representatives competing in the Victorian Metropolitan divisions with Lachlan Dines, Kynan Philippe and Gabriel Gallego in the under-14 boys and Mackenzie Mitchell in the under-14 girls. Frankston Blues chairman, Chris Beattie, said it’s a credit to the program that the kids are achieving these lofty goals and joining these teams. “They are some of our brightest talent and we will continue to support them to help them achieve their potential in their chosen sport,” he said. The Blues players will be joined by two Mornington Breakers players with Zoe Harvey joining the under-14 girls and Mia Newman joining the under-15 girls. Mornington Basketball operations manager, Sam Browne, said that the club is very excited to have the girls competing at the tournament. “Both girls have shown a great deal of commitment and have been stand out players throughout the season,” she said. “We are very excited about the prospects of all of our girls coming through our program.” The Southern Peninsula Sharks will
also have nine representatives at the tournament competing in the Victoria Country divisions. The Sharks representatives are Steve Ranisavljev and Billy Wilson in the under-14 boys; Jasmine Amendola, Chantelle James and Rebecca Rylance in the under-14 girls; Benjamin Fisher and Darcy Jones in the under-15 boys, and Bella Breen and Amber Grant in the under-15 girls. Basketball Victoria’s high performance coach metropolitan, Michael Czepil, said this year’s selected groups for Victoria Metropolitan will continue to showcase the elite talent playing at metropolitan associations. “The Southern Cross Challenge is a great opportunity for our budding athletes to compete against some of the best basketball talent from around the country,” Czepil said. “A number of elite Victorian Metro representatives have used the SCC as a major part of their basketball pathway and we expect nothing different from this group of athletes.” Basketball Victoria’s high performance coach country, Justin Schueller said the country contingent – selected for their tryouts at Shepparton – will set up their elite basketball journeys in tandem with the National Intense Training Program selections. “SCC is an important step for our elite country athletes as they progress further into the country high performance pathway,” Schueller said. “Selection into SCC from Country Victoria is an amazing achievement and coupled with NITP, it showcases our best juniors and gives them an opportunity to become better players and people on and off the court.”
King crowned elite women’s champion at Enduro THE Mornington Peninsula born girls dominated the elite women’s category of this year’s Red Hill Gravity Enduro which was held on Saturday 7-8 October. With some top performances on the Arthurs Seat track, Jenni King (1st), Ellie Wale (2nd) and Kathryn Visser (5th) filled three of the five podium positions at the Red Hill Gravity Enduro. For King, it was a return to both her home town and mountain bike racing after a year away from the sport. “I had a few nerves leading into the Red Hill Gravity Enduro,” King said. “However, I pretty quickly relaxed, enjoyed the trails and was lucky to have a great bunch of girls
to ride, and enjoy the amazing views, with. “The trails that made up the six race stages were some of the best I’ve ever ridden and I had such a fun time pushing my limits down them. To finish up on top of the podium was a bonus to cap off a great day out.” No longer racing competitively, King returned for this one off event to support her new local club of the Red Hill Mountain Bike Riders. “I’ve only just joined the club because they’re so proactive and doing a lot of things for the sport,” she said. “It was a big event for the peninsula so I wanted to be a part of it. “I just treated it as a really good day out. I was obviously racing hard
but still wanted to enjoy it. “It was a lot less stressful and turned out to be a really good day. Having previously competed as a triathlete, King was inspired by mountain biking at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and decided to try her hand at another competitive sport. “I just kept getting injured running in the triathlons so I went out and bought a bike and tried it out,” she said. “Although I’ve stopped riding competitively I still enjoy riding and keeping fit. “It was a combination of factors which stopped me riding competitively. I had some bad injuries and my hip joint still isn’t the same and I had become tired of training to stay
at the elite level. “It was good and it was fun to be at the top level competing. There are always nice people involved which is part of the reason why I do the sport, but there is a lot of hard-work that you need to put in and don’t get paid for and it takes a lot of time out of your day. King hasn’t left the industry entirely and now coach’s mountain biker riders through her business, Pedal Lab. “The girl that came in second I actually used to coach when she was racing cross country, she said. “She’s a very talented young downhiller.” “I hadn’t met the girl that finished in third until the event but she was a really nice young girl and has a really bright future.”
Frankston Times 16 October 2017
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