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Mildura Weekly : Friday June 27 Vol 8 No 34
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www.milduraweekly.com.au 72 Mildura Weekly – 27/06/14 Baseball championships a home run for Mildura Sunraysia performs strongly at Volleyball titles SUNRAYSIA has collected a silver and bronze medal at the recent State Volleyball Country Championships in Leongatha. Mirroring last year’s results, the girls came second to Bellarine in the division two grand final, while the men secured bronze against La Trobe in the division one play- off. Enjoying consistent tournaments were Paolo Mecci, Brad Mason, Brooke Freckle- ton and Teagan Mason who made the men’s and women’s All-Star Seven team. IN a massive coup for the re- gion, Mildura’s Aerodrome Ovals has been named the venue for this year’s Under 16 State Winter Baseball Championships. To be held next week- end, the championships is expected to attract more than 150 players from Ben- digo, Dandenong, Diamond Valley, Ringwood, Geelong and Latrobe Valley. Member for Mildura Pe- ter Crisp said the champion- ships will have many ben- efits for the region. “It’s a great honour and thrill for Mildura to be se- lected to host the Under 16 State Winter Baseball Cham- pionships,” Mr Crisp said. “The event will bring hun- dreds of people to the area, which will provide an added economic benefit to the town through cafes, pubs and accommodation.” Baseball Victoria CEO Neale Price said Mildura ticks all the right boxes. “We couldn’t be happier to be holding this event in a great regional centre like Mildura,” he said. “Mildura has a fantastic baseball fa- cility, and we are looking forward to working with the local association to making this a successful event. “The Championships is an important event on our calendar, and plays a vital role within the development pathway of the Victorian and Australian junior land- scape.” The championships will start 8.45am Saturday, July 5, with Mayor, Cr Glenn Milne and Mr Crisp throwing the ceremonial first pitch. Coinciding with the championships, Baseball Victoria will be running a holiday camp at Aerodrome Ovals on Friday, July 4 from 9am to 1pm. The camp is for players aged between four and 17, with registrations to made by visiting www.baseballvic- toria.com.au . By ADAM LUITJES FOR almost 10 years the Active Af- ter-School Communities program has played a pivotal role in encour- aging primary school students to participate in physical activity. Established by the Australian Sports Commission to tackle child- hood obesity, AASC works hand-in-hand with schools and sporting organisa- tions to provide after-school sports programs. AASC has not only provided Sun- raysia students with a positive environ- ment to play sport, but has also helped increase junior par- ticipation. For eight years the Sunraysia Vol- leyball Association’s Wednesday night ju- nior program was in recess, but with the help of AASC it’s running again. “For too long our focus was on the top,” SVA president Anthony Fox explained. “We were producing State players and coaches, but strug- gling to attract juniors. “Last year I went into the schools and promoted volleyball, but failed because I didn’t have enough sup- port. “AASC came along at the right time, and with assistance from Healthy Together Mildura and the Sunraysia Academy of Sport, we have a junior program again.” Anthony says 24 Year Four, Five and Six students have signed up for the 17-week program. “The AASC co-ordinators know how to keep the kids involved and interested,” he said. “Each player gets their own uniform, and a healthy cup of soup once they have finished. “We teach the basic concepts of volleyball, but the emphasis is definite- ly on having fun.” Southern Mallee AASC co-ordinator Chris McGinty be- lieves the benefits of the volleyball pro- gram are two-fold. “We are develop- ing coaches as well as getting children active,” she said. “We had five teenage coaches from the Sunraysia Academy of Sport volunteer their time, and it’s been great watching them grow. “It’s not easy coaching children, but they have done a fantastic job.” Chris’ counterpart Sam Mus- catello says volleyball isn’t the only sport that has enjoyed success in the region, with hockey, soccer, cricket, canoeing, rugby league and AFL also run through AASC. “We are targeting the shy kids who aren’t athletically gifted,” he said. “We want the kids to feel in- cluded, so they develop a positive attitude towards physical activity. “We travel to schools through- out Sunraysia, the Mallee, the River- land and Swan Hill to promote that message. “There is scientific data that proves that healthy kids perform better academically, so it’s some- thing we think is very important.” Former Olympic coach and head of Australian Institute of Sport Dr Dick Telford believes there is a strong link between healthy stu- dents and academic success. The University of Canberra sports physiologist has just com- pleted a four-year study on the ef- fects that exercise has on children academically, socially and health wise. “The findings showed that pri- mary school students who partici- pated in regular exercise performed better in numeracy and literacy tests,” he said. “The students who didn’t exercise had poor body im- age and low self-respect, and were at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.” Dick said programs such as AASC have an important role to play with the development of pri- mary school students. “The co-ordinators of AASC have one of the most important jobs in education,” he said. “They have the ability to engage with stu- dents, and understand the best way to get them interested in physical activity.” • AIR BALL: Active After-School Communities volleyball coach Bethany Divola and player Ayla Mitchell, 11, enjoy time on the court with fellow teammates and coaches. LEFT: Sports physiologist Dr Dick Telford (pictured with Olympic runner Lisa Weightman) believes primary school students who exercise regularly experience many long- term benefits. Students get active through after- school program
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