Nepean News 6 May 2022 Issue 328OWDIG
26
SPORT
Major boost for St Clair and local sports clubs
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enrith City Council has completed the construction of a new amenities building at Mark Leece Sporting Complex in St Clair. The facility is fully accessible and includes two change rooms for female and male users, a referee’s room, canteen, first aid room, toilets, improved storage and verandah. The $1.7 million project was proudly funded by the NSW Government through the Greater Sydney Sports Facility Fund in association with Council. It forms part of Council’s Sport and Recreation Strategy to provide the infrastructure the community needs to live an active and healthy lifestyle. Penrith Mayor Tricia Hitchen said the new building will be a huge benefit to those who use the complex for sport and recreation. “The previous building was out of date with inadequate storage facilities, accessibility issues and changing rooms which didn’t cater well for female users. We are very pleased to now be able to provide a facility that is fit for purpose.” “We are also appreciative of the support we’ve received from the State Government and the hard work of Member for Mulgoa Tanya Davies which made this possible,” Cr Hitchen said. The new amenities building will service 675 St Clair United Soccer Club members and 151 St Clair Netball Club players as well as local schools. Member for Mulgoa Tanya Davies welcomed this major boost for the St Clair community. “The sporting clubs that rely on the amenities block at Mark Leece Oval knew first-hand how desperately a new block was needed. Thanks to the Minister for Sport, we were able to secure funding for a complete knockdown and rebuild.”
Penrith Mayor Tricia Hitchen and Tanya Davies MP celebrate the opening of the new amenities building at Mark Leece Oval in St Clair with representatives and players from St Clair United Soccer Club and St Clair Netball Club.
“I am thrilled to stand here today to open this wonderful amenities building. This is a gamechanger for the St Clair United Soccer Club and St Clair Netball Club, encouraging more people to participate in sport,” Mrs Davies said. Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres said the NSW Government is committed to creating places and spaces that enable communities to be healthy and active. “The NSW Government is investing in new and existing facilities to improve the quality and quantity of sports infrastructure across Greater Sydney.”
“It’s important that communities have fit-forpurpose facilities to enable participation in sport at all levels, encouraging more people to be healthy, happy and active,” Mr Ayres said. The upgrades complement Council’s $500,000 investment in recent years at the complex in floodlighting, field reconstruction, irrigation and the conversion of an unused reserve area to create a training facility. Find out more about Council’s Sport and Recreation Strategy projects at: penrith.city/ sportandrecreationstrategy
WSU Solar Car Roadshow successfully completed
‘Unlimited 2.0’ on the road during the Roadshow and the successful team members. Photos supplied. By Noel Rowsell
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he WSU Solar Team’s Roadshow has been completed successfully, with the Solar car ‘Unlimited 2.0’ and support team travelling throughout key areas of Regional NSW last week. A total of 21 team members were involved in the roadshow, including the 2 main drivers who drove ‘Unlimited 2.0’ on public roads. Tuesday 26th April was Day 1, which saw the car travel from Kingswood to HARS Aviation Museum in Albion Park, then on to Wakefield Park Raceway near Goulburn for a few laps around the circuit. Day 2 was from Goulburn to Bathurst, with a drive around the Mount Panorama Circuit, then on
to Orange then Molong in full convoy. Day 3 was Molong to Dubbu for the FACTS Careers Day at Dubbo Senior College, representing both the Solar team and WSU. Day 4 was Jerry’s Plains to Tocal to attend the 2022 Tocal Field Day as an engagement activity for those attending, then on to Maitland. Day 5 was from Maitland via the M1 to Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP) at Eastern Creek, where the team met up with family, partners and friends to close the Roadshow. All of the driving on public roads would take place between Sunrise to Sunset, with a target of 1,300kms over the 5 days. “We have many sponsors that supported this event and that we could not have gone without,” said Kartik Kumar, Partnerships Lead - Western
Sydney Solar Team. “A special thank you to Abergeldie and Sydney Motorsport Park, which both assisted tremendously in delivering a successful event. “One of the biggest challenges was fighting the weather. We found that it was a big risk to have our Solar Car driving on the road whilst it was wet, as well as through the rain. We made the most of every opportunity we could, despite the elements, which resulted in being able to drive the Solar Car on the road over all 5 days. “The Solar Team did an amazing job preparing and executing this event. The team worked fantastically together and made sure the roadshow was delivered in a safe but successful manner. We are thankful that there was no damage, no injuries but an enormous amount of learning.”