WITH PATRICK STAVELEY
Tigers honoured at Blacktown City Sport Awards
The Quakers Hill Tigers Soccer Club has been honoured at the Blacktown City Sports Awards Ceremony , taking out the title Club of the Year . Mark Steel is club president . “ Quakers Hill Tigers is run by a dedicated committee who sacrifice a lot to ensure our kids enjoy the game ,” Steel says .
“ To be recognised for the hard work that goes into running a club of our size is a nice feeling . While the committee is the face of Quakers Hill Tigers , we are extremely lucky to have a fantastic group of coaches and managers who work hard to make our club what it is .
“ Winning the Blacktown council ’ s award for club of the year is a joint effort that everyone can be proud of .”
The Tigers are one of 24 soccer clubs that compete in the BDSFA ( Blacktown and Districts Soccer Football Association ) and one of two clubs that compete out of Quakers Hill . Steel is one of the longest serving members of the club , having acted as an equipment officer from 2007- 08 before taking the mantle as president in 2009 .
He was also awarded the Administrator of the Year at the sport awards . He says the club prides itself on its family-friendly values .
“ At Quakers Hill Tigers we try to drive
an organised family friendly environment . We have an in house training program for our minis which runs in a professional manner and is proving to be very successful ,” Steel comments .
“ The kids are learning each training session whilst and we make sure the coaches are on the right path as well . Things such as getting the kids ’ football journey on the right track from the beginning will ensure each player will enjoy playing at Tigers for an extended period of time .
“ Anyone involved in the running of a sporting organisation understands the hard work that goes into it , but by ensuring all our members feel welcome when they turn up , goes a long way to creating a successful club .”
Club of the Year winners - Quakers Hill Tigers .
All Age Men ’ s player McKenzie Ward is in his third year playing for the Tigers , and says ,
“ It ’ s been really nice . It feels like a family club that is accommodating to everyone .”
In other awards on the night , 17-yearold gymnast Leium De-Roo and trampoline gymnast Nicolas Ballas took out Sportsperson of the Year and Young Sportsperson of the Year respectively .
Other awards :
• Mayor ’ s Shield : Andrew Armitage - Little Athletics
• Team of the Year : BCDCA Arch Cawsey Shield Cricket Team - Cricket
• Coach of the year : Belinda Cox - Gymnastics Trampolining
• Volunteer of the Year : Nathan Wright - Baseball
• Sports Official of the Year ( Senior ): Kristina Travers - Softball
• Sports Official of the Year ( Junior ): Abby Cornish - Netball
Congratulations to all the winners !
Blacktown ’ s Ashton Kennedy stars in National Baseball Championships
Blacktown City FC under 20s men dominate
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Kennedy in action in Adelaide .
The National Baseball Championships were held in Adelaide from 29 May to 3 June and Blacktown boy Ashton Kennedy was good enough to be involved with his side the Ryde Hawks , in the Little League competition as they went onto finish 7th out of 10 teams .
“ It was a whirlwind of a tournament , they played their hearts out ,” his mother Tamara said .
“ They ended up in two-tie break games which unfortunately didn ’ t go their way . Baseball is a funny sport , it ’ s probably the only sport where they set you up to fail ! A batter with a . 300 batting average is considered an elite batter in Major League Baseball .
“ That means they only hit the ball three out of ten times while 70 per cent of the time they ’ re getting out . So you can imagine the life lessons this sport teaches the young players .”
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The Hawks got through to the National Championships through the State Championships which was held over the Easter Break . Eleven NSW teams all played against each other , with the top two at the end going on to represent NSW at the National Championships .
The Hawks were the only side undefeated in the State Championships until the Grand Final where they picked up a silver medal after losing to Cronulla – who ended up joining them in Adelaide for Nationals .
Ashton had a great tournament himself , striking out seven people in his 3.1 innings as pitcher . At the plate he hit a triple and kept the team going by notching up important runs to tie the game up .
“ It was such a great experience for him ,” his mother added .
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The 2022 NPL 1 Men ’ s Football Competition is said to be one of the tightest in memory , with multiple top performing teams and only a few rounds to go .
Four away games and one home game punctuate the month of July for Blacktown as they play Sydney FC ( 3 July ), Manly ( 9 July ), Sutherland ( 16 July ) and Sydney Olympic ( 31 July ). The home game will
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be on 24 July when Blacktown take on Wollongong .
Blacktown under 20 men continue to dominate their competition , with Sydney FC coming in second on the ladder . This sets up an important clash in Round 18 between the two sides .
“ The success of both the senior men and under 20s has Blacktown once again sitting on top of the Football NSW Club Championship on 174 points . Next best is Sydney FC on 162 ,” executive chairman Bob Turner said last week ( 24 June ).
The senior women ’ s team continues to improve in their first year of competition , with the goal of coach David O ’ Keefe to have them finish in the top 10 .
The last home game of the regular season is Sunday , 24 July , in Round 12 up against Wollongong at Blacktown City Sports Centre , Quinn Avenue , Seven Hills .
Action from Round 16 of the NSW NPL competition .
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28 ISSUE 16 // JULY 2022 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT