ALL roads certainly led to Goulburn’s sporting facilities over the weekend as thousands of visitors headed to the city for one or more of the major events.
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Heading the list of sports events bringing people to the city was the NSW Masters Women’s Indoor Hockey Championships, then the Southern Suns Junior Touch Carnival, closely followed by the Strikers Masters Football Carnival and the Australian GP Midgets Titles plus the large field of Wingless Sprint Cars at Goulburn Speedway.
At both the masters venues the sport was highly competitive but the events were also about catching up with friends and having a good time away from the normal week day stresses.
At the Veolia Arena, the main difference between the carnivals where parents bring their youngsters to compete, like basketball, netball, or indoor hockey, was that the adults were on the court.
The young people, rather than playing were umpiring or watching enthusiastically encouraging their mothers, aunts or grandmothers from the sidelines.
As Jo Gulson, one of the Goulburn hockey players put it, “At our age is is as much about having fun and catching up with friends as it is about the sporting competition.”
She said that several of the “rival” teams intended going out to dinner together on Saturday night to catch up.
Goulburn Hockey Association President Mark Calvert said, yesterday morning that the women’s championships the first of the two indoor hockey carnivals, had gone better than expected.
“There were only a few minor hiccups and we expected to encounter a few things as this is the first time that Goulburn has ever conducted an indoor championships.
The facility has proved quite successful but we could certainly do with more tiered seating.
We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in bringing the Championships to Goulburn.
Darrell Orton and the Strikers Football Club were just as enthusiastic about their carnival at Goodhew Park which was many years ago the hub of soccer in Goulburn.
Here, while there was some very competitive football played, the weekend was more about friendships, having fun and participating in a sporting activity to keep fit and healthy. This carnival drew players from mostly southern NSW to the city for two days with plenty of time between games.
“I attend lots of these carnivals as do many other players and it has helped me to maintain my fitness,” he said.
The Goulburn Speedway regularly attracts interstate competitors and visitors from far flung places within NSW. Saturday night was no exception with Sydneysiders and other visitors outnumbering the local competitors. With some of Victoria’s top GP Midget drivers making the trip up the Hume Highway to compete, this was sure to be a good night.
Add to the mix 33 Wingless Sprint Cars including the three Granger brothers, Peter, Rod and Michael in the field, Goulburn had another major drawcard, for another group of sports enthusiasts.
Then Sunday the Southern Suns Touch Carnival brought well over 1000 people to Carr Confoy park to see some of Southern NSW’s best junior teams compete.
A common thread of thought for the travellers has been Goulburn’s central location that makes it an ideal sporting hub. Over the next few weeks there will be several more major sporting events bringing visitors to Goulburn.