The Macksville oval was awash with budding young footy talents today as the NSW Touch Association, courtesy of the Macksville Falcons, hosted their annual gala day.
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The event usually attracts hundreds of primary school-aged players from as far north as Coffs Harbour and south to Kempsey, and this year saw 40 teams and over 400 students take part.
This year, St Mary’s, Frank Partridge VC, Macksville Public, St Patrick’s, St Joseph’s in Kempsey and Bishop Druitt all fielded teams.
And 19 student volunteers from Macksville High helped referee the day’s games.
The gala day acts as a non-competitive introduction into the sport and many of the kids there had never played a game before in their lives.
But the mood on and off the field was jubilant, with many newbies saying they’d love to have another go at touch footy in the future.
The sport has gone from strength to strength in the Valley since the Falcons came onto the scene in 2011.
The Macksville association now supports a membership of 900 – being at full capacity for the past four years – and makes a strong showing at the NSW state rep event every year.
It’s an impressive feat considering the only other touch associations in the area are located in the much bigger regional centres of Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Grafton.
Even Coffs Harbour was lacking a touch football representation until just three weeks ago.
The Falcons’ success is largely due to a healthy and family-oriented club culture and proactive committee according to president Craig ‘Noodles’ Englert.
He says the club routinely travels together to visit carnivals in Maitland, Nelsons Bay and Murwillumbah, and that Thursday nights at the oval are one of the “biggest social events of the town”.
“The community support shows when we head out to carnivals and rep titles – we often have a whole sideline filled with supporters, whereas the metro teams are lucky to have one or two people there to cheer them on,” he said.
With events like today’s gala day and the enthusiasm it generated in the young players, it’s clear that the Falcons are pretty well set up to continue on their path to the top.
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Mel Leigh Dee
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
