By Ron Lane
If we stop and take a good look at our community we will become aware that just about every sport known to man is being played. With this in mind we at Noosa Today will endeavor to bring to you their stories and results in which we in Noosa and surrounding districts can indeed take pride. Sad to say that for many clubs their athletes and achievements are going unnoticed.
There can be no doubt that many of you will be surprised to note that within our boundaries there are many athletes who are now not only competing, but also making a mark at state national and in some cases, international level.
Once again one of our little known amateur athletes has hit the big time on the international scene. Last Sunday competing as a member of the Australian amateur boxing team Cooroys Taylah Robertson (of the Cooroy Impact Boxing Academy) caused a sensation by winning the gold medal at the International Boxam Tournament held at Castellon Spain.
To achieve this Taylah, boxing in the 51kg division had to win four fights in four days. Her first victory was against the Thailand champion, then the French followed by the girl from Spain (who was boxing in front of her home crowd with local support making it tougher) and in the final it was against a New Zealand champion.
Speaking from his home in Cooroy early on Monday morning her very excited coach Mark Evans said, “This has been a great win not only for Taylah but also for Australia. This tournament which is one of the biggest on the international calendar was conducted under the banner of the European Boxing Confederation; with all referees and judges supplied by the International Federation. To not only win but also gain such international experience is a massive step towards selection for Taylah on the Australian team for the Tokyo Olympics.”
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For the administrators coaches’ athletes and families of Noosa Little Athletics the months ahead will indeed be very busy. On June 25 Zane Branco aged 19 (a graduate of the Sunshine Beach State High School) will travel to Townsville as a member of the Australian Athletic Team to represent his country in the Oceanic Championships contesting the 200mt events.
It is this young athlete who last year finished fifth in the final of the 200 mt event at World Youth Championships in Finland.
“These titles,” said Head Coach Mick Hooper, “will play host to countries such as New Zealand, Fiji, New Guinea, Solomon Islands and many other countries in the Oceanic region. The standard of competition will be of a high level, for it is events such as these that could eventually lead to the World and Olympic Game selection.”
But this not all for one week later Zane will be off to Italy to again represent Australia at the World University Games. We wish him well.
With the athletic season getting under way, the date for the big event of the year for Noosa Little Athletics the now famous Noosa Gift, will soon be announced. If past years are any indication this event will be again be well supported: clubs coming from all over the state as well as from Northern NSW.
Speaking with both Coaches Mark Evans (boxing) and Mick Hooper (athletics) both expressed concern regarding finance. This is a major problem as the key to success in amateur sport is international competition. With Australias isolation the cost of travel to obtain this is indeed massive. So just what is the answer?
