The Lachlan Dragons competed at Syd- ney’s Darling Harbour last weekend in the Chinese New Year regatta.

Fourteen paddlers made the annual trip to compete in the premier, mixed and wom- en’s races. They were joined by the Orange based Pinnacle Dragons to fill the boat.

First timers Mary Laksito, Liz Mitchell, Chris Kronenberg, Bev Pengilly and Ainslie Toole were joined by old hands Warren Ed- wards, Donna Edwards, Beth Thomas, Bill Thomas, Robyn Stephens, Neil Stephens, Deb Abela, Deb Tooley and Deb Churchill.

Although the team didn’t gain a place in any of the finals, the squad performed bril-

liantly in balmy 39 degrees Celsius. They finished five of the seven races in sub one minute time for the 200m events.

Next month the Lachlan Dragons will com- pete in the Canberra regatta, once again combining with Colour City Orange pad- dlers in the mixed team.

Six Lachlan Dragon club members have gained selection in the Western Region team. They will compete at NSW Champi- onships on 26th March in Penrith. Congrat- ulations to Helen Rowbotham, Claire Davis, Carmen Stephens, Beth Thomas, Rochelle Smith and Warren Edwards.

By Chris Sweeney

Forbes was running high on rugby league fever last Thursday when two Penrith Pan- thers players visited local schools as part of the NRL Community Carnival.

Josh Mansour and Soni Luke visited five schools in the morning to talk about respect and diversity and in the afternoon they were at Spooner Oval to meet fans, hand out autographs and pose for photos.

Many children brought shirts and caps to be signed, while the NRL also had posters with a team photo of the Panthers signed by the two visiting players.

The morning sessions at the schools focused on the importance of respect, belonging and celebrating differences both on and off the field.

The NRL Community Carnival takes players throughout Australia and New Zealand this month to meet fans in more than 80 communities.

Now in its 17th year, the NRL Commu- nity Carnival is supported by every NRL club and NRL Ambassadors, and will reach more than 250,000 kids, visit more than 1,000 schools and travel more than 40,000 km.

To play JRL in Forbes, interested players can contact Matthew Little on 0418 666 550 at the Forbes Magpies JRL, or Mat- thew Toohey on 0450 878 889 at Red Bend JRL.

The biggest challenge last Tuesday for croquet players was the heat with some players not able to play all games.

The consistent players across the three games of golf croquet were John H Brown, Bruce Field, Bill Scott and Ken Styles with a score of three out of three. They were followed by Kathleen Broderick, Colleen Leibich, Joan Littlejohn, Neville Morrison and Carol Slattery, with two wins each across the three games. Congratulations to all – it’s a pleasure to see some strategic thinking happening on all courts.

Despite the cooler weather last Saturday, fewer members than usual came along. There were some in depth discussions between partners as to how to approach the hoop and knock the opposition out, with some hilarious results and laughter.

Alex Todd, with the assistance of his partners, was the only player to win all three games. Several players won two of their matches: John and Cherylin Cole, Lorna Field, Joan Littlejohn, Kevin Rubie, Libby Smart, Lorraine Todd and Barry White. Well done teams. Happy birthday to Jill Rubie.

By Harley Stewart

 

Three Forbes sport clubs were on the receiving end of the Forbes Services Memorial Club’s biannual local not-for- profit community grants. The Forbes and District Soccer Club, Rugby Union Club and Forbes Rugby League Club received shares in the $3,700, which will be used to purchase new equipment and uniforms. Application forms for the grants are located in the magazine rack at the front of the club.

Many players have been turning up for the early start at 8:15am eager to beat the heat and hit the courts. A special mention goes to Libby Smart and her off siders for their superb work in setting up the courts before everyone arrives.

Results for Saturday, 28th January:

Kevin Rubie and Jeff Liebich 14 def Harley Stewart and Lorraine Todd 10.
Bruce Field and Libby Smart 14 def Bob Murray and Bill Scott 10.
Alex Todd and M Langfield 14 def Doreen Rogers and Lorna Field 12.
Judy Ellis and Veva MacCullagh 14 def J.H.Browne and Joan Littlejohn 13.
Anne Stewart and Jill Rubie 14 def Mary
Nelson and Kathleen Broderick 13.
John and Cherylin Cole 14 def Doreen Whit- worth 11.
Colleen Liebich and Dorothea Croker 14 def J MacCullagh and Barry White 11.
Colleen Liebich and John Cole 14 def Do- reen Whitworth and Marg Nelson 7.
Jeff Liebich and Libby Smart 14 def Joan Littlejohn and Doreen Rogers 10.
Alex and Lorraine Todd 14 def Kevin Brod- erick and Cherylin Cole 10.
Bruce Field and Dorothea Croker 14 def Anne Stewart and Jill Rubie 8.
Bob Murray and Lorna Field 14 def Judy El- lis and M Langfield 10.
Kevin Rubie and Veva MacCullagh 14 def
ohn MacCullagh and Bill Scott 11.
Harley Stewart 14 def John H Browne and Barry White 13.
Bruce Field and Merv Langfield 14 def Cherylin Cole and Judy Ellis 9.
Alex Todd and Veva MacCullagh 14 def Bob Murray and Dorothea Croker 10.
Jill and Kevin Rubie 14 def Lorna Field and Lorraine Todd 10.
Joan Littlejohn 14 def John H Browne 13. Harley Stewart and Doreen Whitworth 14 def Colleen Liebich and Marg Nelson 10. John Cole and Libby Smart 14 def Kathleen Broderick and Jeff Liebich 10.
Anne Stewart and Bill Scott 14 def John MacCullagh and Barry White 12.

Forbes will turn into a sporting hub on the weekend of 1st and 2nd April when a major event organiser takes on the Forbes Triathlon Festival.

The Forbes Running and Tri Club has called on NSW’s leading multisport organiser Elite Energy Events to put together a weekend of triathlon action.

It is expected that the weekend will not only bring large numbers of athletes, but also boost the local economy with more than $500,000,” said Sebastian Gallery of Elite Energy.

“We are thrilled to be able to bring a weekend full of events to the area and forming a strong relationship with the Forbes Shire Council and the local people. We look forward to welcoming hundreds of athletes from across NSW,” said Elite Energy’s CEO Mark Emerton.

The triathlon festival, held over two days, kicks off on the Saturday morning with the Sprint Triathlon(750m swim, 20km bike and 10km run), Enticer Triathlon(100m swim, 4km bike and 1km run) and Miniman for Kids Triathlon(100m swim, 2km ride, and 1km run). Later in the day there will be fun runs and the Island to Island swim at the Forbes Ski Dam.

Sunday will be another day of action with the Standard distance(1.5km swim/40km bike/10km run) and the main event the Ul- timate Triathlon (1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run). The Ultimate Triathlon is the newest entrant into half iron distance triathlon racing. Forbes is the sixth leg of the Ultimate Triathlon series of seven locations across Australia.

The event hub for the Forbes Triathlon Festival will be located at the Ski Dam. Registrations for the Forbes Festival are open at www.eliteenergy.com.au

Community groups and sporting clubs wishing to become involved in the volun- teer program and help raise funds for their community or sporting group should email volunteer@eliteenergy.com.au.

Last year 9-year-old Tom Drane became the youngest ever winner of the Forbes Sports Person of the Year Award.

Who will it be this year? You still have time to recognise and acknowledge the achieve- ments and contributions of the town’s local sporting heroes.

There is not much time left to enter nominations for all the categories including, Junior, Senior, All Round Sportsperson, Team, Administrator, Coach/Trainer, Referee/Um- pire and overall Sportsperson of the Year. The closing date is Tuesday, 31st January.

All sporting clubs are encouraged to nominate someone for every category to recog- nise and show appreciation to your clubs’ achievers for 2016.

Nomination forms are available on the Facebook page of the Forbes Sports Person of the Year Association.

All nominations are judged by an independent judging panel. The winners will be announced at the Annual Awards Presentation Dinner on Saturday, 4th March at the Forbes Services Memorial Club commencing at 6.30pm.