Australians see themselves as part of a sporting nation, with a great tradition of sport.
Many of them, however – particularly city dwellers – are more likely to be switching on a television set and settling down to watch other people doing things, people who are paid specialists. Our national waistlines are growing in proportion to the amount of time we are just watching.Yet we take sport for granted as part of life in Australia and expect to bathe in its reflected glory. A particularly good reason for really taking sport seriously is that (sorry about this!) it is good for us in so many ways – health, personal development, social interaction and yes, some serious fun.Do you know that the primary meaning of the word ‘sport’ in the Oxford English Dictionary is “Pleasant pastime; amusement; diversion…”?In Armidale, it is more icing on the cake. Accessing sport can be stressful and difficult in metropolitan cities, and not all regions have nearly the range of facilities we have. We can enjoy activities very easily. Steve McMillan is the President of the Armidale Sports Council. He is a man who doesn’t waste words, and when he speaks he usually has something worth listening to. Steve says it’s easier to name baseball and softball as the only two possible sports that are not currently available in Armidale rather than to list those that are. I’ll take his word for it.The Armidale Sports Council works closely with the Armidale Dumaresq Council to make sure that the facilities are available. Jasmine Galletly is the sports coordinator, and she absolutely fizzes with experience and expertise. The University of New England facilities add that extra cream to the venues as part of the mix, with more major construction activity in progress. UNE has just done a 3 year deal with the Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) and local Member and UNE Chancellor Richard Torbay says he can’t wait to see UNE host the next 2 Academy Games. April will see ”a spectacular opening ceremony featuring more than 1,000 athletes in Armidale,” he says.Armidale is increasingly hosting so many sporting fixtures “because it is a very desirable destination and the facilities here are good enough,” Steve says. (As an example, Port Macquarie has only 2 turf wickets – we have 8.) From young participants to masters’ games, Armidale is welcoming them all. And it is wonderful to see the excitement on very young faces on the local TV news – their efforts are still important here, and not brushed aside for the professionals …We should be making sure that all our sporting visitors leave knowing what else we have to offer in our city and district.Armidale has one of the highest motel occupancy rates in the state. This is just one of the spin-off benefits that sport can bring to the community, with the flow-on effect spreading through our economy.The proof of the pudding is in the eating, in more ways than one. It has been estimated that sporting events in Armidale over the last three years have added $55 million to the economy, and last year the figure was $25.5 million! The Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout was a big contributor.Hats off to all involved in sport – this is serious stuff.Steve says that one of the major factors in running sporting contests here is the large number of available volunteers who have always put their hands up for the different aspects of running a successful event. Armidale has long been recognised as having one of highest volunteer responses in many different fields, and the support of sport is obviously no exception. In changing times we have to make sure this continues. Taking on a committee position or a job is one of the most rewarding ways people can give back some of what they have gained and enjoyed in life.This is the spirit that makes a healthy, happy and functioning community, and here in Armidale it is so easy to be part of it. We are lucky enough to have the opportunity to realise the primary meaning of the word SPORT – we can actually enjoy it the way we were meant to.For information call:Steve McMillan ASC 0409 663 674; Jasmine Galletly ADC 6770 3807; Dave Schmude Sport UNE 6773 5185; Peter Annis-Brown NIAS 6766 2526.
The football season for 2009 is over, with a successful year for both the Uralla Tigers and Uralla Pussies.
When Sue Dee asked me to write an occasional column for Focus, the question was, what was the focus
So I thought that the focus should be on Armidale and its hinterland and on all of those things that are the icing on the cake.
I wasn’t always a Pollyanna by any means, nor even a ‘glass half-full person’. It took a lot of different life experiences in a lot of different places.
Maybe it’s – ahem – maturity that makes me look at the pluses in life now.
But Armidale certainly makes it very easy to do so, and it doesn’t need a season of goodwill for those of us who live here to know how lucky we are.
Although more and more people are coming to join us, the city is actually nearly the perfect size for what used to be called ‘civilised living’.
As my son said years ago, it is big enough that people don’t inevitably know who you know and what you’re doing, but small enough that when you are strolling down the Mall with some time on your hands there is always someone ready for a chat.
There has to be a critical mass living here for us to deserve all the things we have and often take for granted – the range of educational opportunities from pre-school to university, the cultural and community opportunities, the sporting facilities, the range of shops and businesses, the ability to still relate to the earth and the seasons and what they can produce rather than to be distanced as so many metropolitan people so sadly are, and the incredible natural wonders that surround us only minutes away.
Education is without a doubt the major business in the town – the economic multiplier effect from the schools, the University of New England, TAFE, the Conservatorium, NERAM etc. etc. spreads out into most businesses.
Without the university, Armidale would be a very much smaller place with a lot fewer services, and a lot less opportunities to be taken up by those who seek them out.
Armidale is beautifully placed as a true university city and beautifully placed to capitalise on that in ways that benefit everyone, by no means just those directly involved in education. We have to make sure we maximise our possibilities.
But we have those heart/barbecue stopping attributes here too.
Armidale is the University City with a Portal to Gondwana – how cool is that!
The World Heritage people are pretty happy about it too. This is an aspect of where we live that I’d like to talk about in the future.
With all those wonderful other attributes that can make life here so pleasant, well – that’s all the icing on the cake. This month, make it a nice dark fruit cake with marzipan icing.
Season’s greetings, Susie Dunn.
P.S. (Sorry, I always have to have at least one other word).
Down the track I’d like to talk about the incredible job that organised sport does in this community, how we come to have 150 locals presenting opera with the Armidale symphony orchestra, the highly organised trading culture of the aboriginal people over millennia, the reasons why Hunter S. Thompson’s chum Ralph Steadman talked of “the little community of Armidale who dream of a New Universe and a clean world”, the fact that eels leave the pools at the foot of Dangars Falls to make their way to New Caledonia to breed and then make their way back up the ranges again, the amazing story of Signor Vertelli walking the wire across the same Dangars Falls in 1866, why the New England Regional Art Gallery is worth all the stresses that have surrounded it recently and why and how we should capitalise on the many visitors who come here for other reasons than ‘just passing through …’ Oh, what stories are out there … Icing on the Cake …!
Ebor Beef Inc. is a large group of prime grass-fed beef producers from Ebor and surrounding districts. We talk to Sam and Jules Ditchfield, who are responsible for the marketing of Ebor Beef Inc.
David Mackay is recognised as one of the best botanical artists in the world. Botanical artist David Mackay showcases his stunning works locally at Gallery 126.
