TENNIS: It would seem that the initially promoted handicap system introduced for the forthcoming season with the blended A and B Grade competitions has not been met with a great deal of popularity and after only one week there have been changes to the format already with the handicaps being scrapped.
It seems now that the Association has decided that the matches, even between an A and B Grade side will be played as a normal encounter and the Association offering “bonus” points at the end of the season.
What it seems like is a bit of a mess with the Association grappling to answer the plight of a lack of a fourth A Grade team.
Some tough decisions should be made about how the A-Grade is structured and looking at the teams in the competition it would seem that it is an imperative for clubs to provide an A-Grade side if they wish to field more than one side in their B-Grade competition.
It is either that or adopt a Southern Flinders style model where there are no grades but clubs fielding multiple teams are evenly balanced with each team fielding six men and six women.
The model works very well in that competition and they have made it clear that they would be unlikely to ever revert to grades again.
With the competition fielding twelve teams the Association do split into two divisions come finals time with the top four playing Division 1 and positions 5-8 playing off in the Division 2 finals.
It works well and like any new innovation there teething problems but after a number of seasons they seem to have ironed out most of their issues. Something is working there as a new club, Laura joined the Southern Flinders comp this season.
SCHOOL SPORT: Port Pirie’s talented young sports stars pack their bags and head off to Adelaide next week for five days of high action.
Teams from Pirie will be competing in tennis and cricket it would appear as both Pirie teams are star studded and both show great prospects of doing well.
While the emphasis on primary school sport is, and should, be on participation and having fun, one can’t help but think the Pirie sides in both sports look to be very good on paper.
The cricketers will be playing in the south-eastern suburbs, while the tennis players will be based at the Broadview tennis club for the week.
CRICKET:Local cricket looks to be alive and welll with the competition, both at senior and junior level continuing to grow and it is certainly a period of boom times for the Association.
The juniors still have excellent numbers and the Sunday morning Under 17 competition is already starting to look like a winner. The timing of this grade seems to work well with the timing not affecting senior grades which means that many lads can double up and play A or B Grade for a senior club. The Under 14 competition and Under 12 grades also have excellent numbers and from what I saw on Monday night the standard and talent of these young lads is has great potential that is being well nurtured by some very good coaches.
At the senior level the competition looks to be running smoothly too.
In the B-Grade Warnertown has once again emerged as the team to beat but the advent of new club Strykers has certainly injected some added interest into the comp.
In the A-Grade the competition looks to be a lot more even with South-Port, Wandearah and Props all being in the mix.
Risdon also look to be an improved combination this season.
Sollies are the club that seem to have struck some difficult times and they are really struggling to get good numbers in both the A and B Grade competitions.
Unfortunately they don’t have the depth of talent in their juniors and they have lost a lot of their talent at the top end, which means they are left in a struggling situation. If you are new to town or simply just looking for a game of cricket then maybe Sollies may be your first port of call.
If you think might be able to help the club give me a call and I will put you in touch with the right people.
* * * * *
The annual intercity series is just around the corner with Port Pirie set to defend their title as the best competition in the Upper Spencer Gulf .
They are currently the reining champions of the Tri-City series against Whyalla and Port Augusta and this year they will be gunning for three in a row.
They are every chance to do just that too with many of the top players hitting great early season form. Whyalla is looming as the danger side in the series with several of their top players hitting great early season form.
The Port Augusta competition has made a slow start to the year and as yet there have been no big scores registered by any of their clubs.
That would suggest either really good bowling stocks or more likely that none of their talent has hit their straps yet.
PORT PIRIE SPORTING ASSOCIATION: It would seem that last week’s article about the Port Pirie Sporting Association may have had a double-edged sword with members on the Association making it clear that they have no intention of seeing the body fold.
The good news though is that the story did spark conversation and in less than a week I have received expressions of interest from five people who are very keen to get involved with the association from when their annual general meeting is held in March next year.
In addition to the five expressions of interest I received I am also aware of another three who will also be joining the group next year.
It is heartening to see that the sporting
community of Port Pirie has some very community- minded spirits and all of the names I have received are all individuals who have experience at senior administration levels. They are all widely respected in the community for their work in their chosen sports. There is little doubt that all will positively enhance the already high esteem that the Port Pirie Sporting Association has.
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