Festival Gave Everyone Sporting Chance
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday March 11, 2003
EVERYTHING from dragon boats and surfing to lawn bowls and sand modelling featured at the Shell Cove Shellharbour City Festival of Sport last weekend.
The festival was hailed a success from the launch at Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club last Friday to the family fun day on Sunday.
A crowd cheered on the dragon boat races on Saturday at Skiway Park, Oak Flats, creating intense rivalry between Shellharbour City Council and their Wollongong City counterparts, while Shellharbour Workers tried to outmanoeuvre the Dapto Leagues Club crew.
But City Coast Credit Union emerged the winner, edging out Shelly's and Illawarra Police.
Lawn bowls was played at Warilla, Oak Flats and Albion Park bowling clubs while the Calderwood Valley course hosted the golf.
In the bodyboarding competition at Warilla Beach, winners were Ben Wakling in the under 17s and Ashley Harris in senior over 18s.
More than 20 participants from Sydney and Wollongong joined in the Shell Cove Walk from the Ocean Beach Hotel/Motel to Bass Point and Bass Cove and return.
In the skateboarding competition at the Lake Illawarra PCYC, Mitchell Burley took out the open section and Adam Conrad the junior.
The SMP Skate Team from Sydney provided a demonstration featuring junior Australian skateboard champions.
There was also table tennis at Shellharbour Workers Club, which was well attended.
The biggest embarrassment award went to the men in the heaviest bream fishing competition - open to juniors, women and men - which started on Saturday afternoon and finished at noon Sunday.
Joshua Phillis won the junior section and Sheri Prychocki the women's section, but in difficult weather conditions the men fished lake, rock and beach spots. Alas, they were unable to catch a bream.
The main tales of male woe were of tailor and other bandits getting to the bait first. Truth often is the first casualty of fishing.
Thousands turned out for the Family Fun Day at Reddall Reserve on Sunday.
Various come and try sports were available including tennis, baseball, softball, rockclimbing and abseiling walls to name a few.
Demonstrations included motocross, figure-skating, acrobatics, dance, gymnastics, kite surfing and tae kwon do.
© 2003 Illawarra Mercury
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