Epic contest in battle of codes

I HONESTLY thought I was watching a Charlton Heston epic movie when I tried to sit quietly at the Contendor of the Codes boxing tournament a couple of weeks ago.
It really was like the Romans throwing the Christians to the Lions, the crowd simply went off.
I don’t think it was the class of the fighters, more so the effort of just getting in and having a go for charity and their beloved clubs.
All sports were represented – rugby, football, AFL, cricket and league.
The fighters had all done some pre-night training under the watchful eye of former professional champion Israel Kani at his venue HBO at Noosaville.
The place was packed and the behavior top class, and there was plenty raised for Sunshine Coast Butterflies and the participating clubs.
The organisers did two smart things on the night – one was having Israel referee and the other, the bouts were over three rounds of 90-seconds duration.
That way safety was the top priority and the boys were fit enough not to get hurt.
I can assure you, if the rounds had of been over two or three minutes, someone would have got hurt.
I certainly can recommend the HBO Gym to anyone wanting to take up the art of self defence.
I was proud to see such a wonderful night, with nearly everyone having a easy night of enjoyment. Although there were a few girlfriends/mothers cringing every time a solid punch landed. But they needn’t have worried as the combatants were wearing 16oz gloves and official head-guards to Olympic standard.
I also noticed one of the pugs was the very talented Anthony Ziph who really leads by example.
What can’t this former Noosa Pirates Star do? Three years with the Brisbane Broncos, two years with Brisbane Norths, three local A Grade premierships, and plays off single figures in golf.
He certainly showed he can hold his hands up, which he will need to do following his appointment as the new Pirates/Gympie coach.
A four-man panel including Gympie supercoach Darren Burns and Noosa’s favorite son Greg Christensen were given the task of finding a person who would lead the merged clubs into the future. Plans are already well in place with A Grade, Division 2, under-18s, and Youth Cup teams to represent the northern area of the Coast. Congratulations to all, I think you have got the right bloke, hopefully he won’t have to butter the bread on game day.
How about the latest dribble from someone who played the political correctness card after fast food giant McDonalds was criticised for handing out prizes “Team Spirit awards”. Apparently a Coast dad complained and the Obesity Policy Coalition agreed, taking the complaint to the Advertising Standards Bureau two months ago. Sadly this dad, has missed the point of the awards, its not about selling more french fries/burgers, its about giving something back to the community, on the job well done. I am very close to most local Mac owners, and I can assure that yes, it’s a PR exercise but its their way of putting something back. If you put a dollar value on how much the Mac shops raise and return to charities is to hard to calculate, but what about Ronald McDonald House and its importance in the community. Local MacDonalds have been ordered to stop and withdraw any Team Spirit awards. So I hope the dad is happy, but I wonder what he eats when watching the Big Bang Theory each week.
Until next time.