Local Sport

GREATER Bendigo council staff are slowly getting on top of a major problem at one of the city’s premier sporting grounds. The water table at the second AFL ground at the Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve is often too close to the surface, bringing with it salt levels that kill grass. Roger B..

The timeline for Bendigo Lady Braves recruit Elyse Penaluna suiting up for her first game with the team remains up in the air. Penaluna is rehabbing a knee injury that afflicted her during her WNBL campaign with Bulleen, and Goodman isn’t sure when her recovery will be complete. “It..

SOME say politics is a sport, and federal Liberal Bendigo candidate Greg Bickley is mixing both. Mr Bickely yesterday launched the inaugural Red Shield Ride in Bendigo. The aim of the ride is to raise money for the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal. “Over the years, I’ve bee..

Council funds floodlights while children have to pay to use sports facilities By ANTHONY RADFORD GREATER Bendigo council is expected to spend almost $300,000 on the seventh set of lights at the Huntly Epsom Recreation reserve in the coming budget, despite wanting to charge junior players ..

By JOEL PETERSON BENDIGO kayaking star Maddie Batters is embarking on the trip of a lifetime, to compete against some of the world’s top white-water kayakers. The talented sportswoman will compete in six international races over six weeks across Europe, representing her country at both ju..

Bendigo Spirit all-star centre Gabrielle Richards has recommitted to the club for the 2013/14 WNBL season. Richards, who is currently playing in the SEABL with Knox, put pen to paper last week on a contract that will see her return to the club after a career-best year in the Spirit’s run..

Bendigo has fared relatively well in a statewide report highlighting the number of alcohol and drug-related ambulance attendances. The Turning Point Alcohol ad Drug Centre listed the number of drug-related ambulance cases in 2011-12. Across regional Victoria, Greater Bendigo was fifth ov..

FORMER Prime Minister and passionate human rights advocate Malcolm Fraser will open this year’s Bendigo Writers Festival. Mr Fraser will speak at The Capital on Friday, August 9, in the keynote session hosted by La Trobe University Bendigo. Festival chairman Cr Rod Fyffe said Mr Fras..

By JOEL PETERSON Bendigo secondary school students had a brush with fame this week when 11 Olympians visited the school for the Victorian Olympic Council’s Bendigo Active Youth Development Program. Around 230 secondary school students were coached by Olympians at various venues in Bendigo ..

By ANTHONY RADFORD IT is only round three, but Bendigo Thunder can start making room in its trophy cabinet for its second Victorian Women’s Football League premiership cup. The Thunder had a crushing 17.14.116 to 3.1.19 win over North Ballarat at Kangaroo Flat on the weekend. The 97-p..

FORMER Melbourne AFL strongman David Schwarz will be part of a Sportsman’s night in Bendigo later this month. The rugged forward will be a special guest of the Bendigo District Golf Association fundraiser in support of the Bendigo Country Week squad. Funds raised will assist with the purch..

By STEVE KENDALL THE Wellsford Forest will be a hive of activity this weekend as the sled dog racing season kicks off. There is no snow needed as the Northern Victorian Sled Dog Club is a dryland club. It caters for all breeds of dogs who like to be exercised, with Alaskan malamuts and Sibe..

BENDIGO is expected to host the Australian Ultimate Frisbee Championships again in a couple of years. More than 550 players filled the Huntly Epsom Recreation Reserve for four days until last Sunday, with 30 teams coming from across the country. Organiser John Hempel was full of praise for the v..

By JOEL PETERSON Outgoing Bendigo Football Netball league chief executive officer Steven Oliver has been appointed the general manager of the Bendigo Golf Club. Oliver resigned from his position on Monday night, citing “new career opportunities” as the motivation for his decision. ..

The Fighting Miners kicked off their defence of the Coulter Cup in emphatic fashion last Saturday, recording a 73-0 thumping of the Border Army Dogs at Epsom Huntly Recreation Reserve. The Miners opened the scoring after three minutes, led by 26-0 at half-time and continued to pile on the points i..

The Bendigo Mountain Bike Club will hold its showpiece annual event, the Golden Triangle Epic, this Sunday. The event has traditionally offered distances of 15km, 50km and 100km through the Bendigo bushland, and has been extremely popular with locals, as well as those from further afield. Last ..

The Dragon City Derby Dolls are looking for new recruits to join the league as Bendigo’s only roller derby league embarks on its 2013 season. The Derby Dolls have started a “fresh meat” campaign, to try and attract new skaters and other volunteers to join the league Held th..

By JOEL PETERSON South Bendigo will try to reclaim the Graeme Wright Memorial Cup this Saturday night, when they take on traditional rival Sandhurst at the Queen Elizabeth Oval. The game is also the WorkSafe Game of the Month, the first contest in AFL Victoria Country’s 10th year of holdin..

By JOEL PETERSON Bendigo Thunder started its premiership defence with a bang on Sunday, recording a 102-point win while holding last year’s runner-up, La Trobe University, scoreless at Dower Park. Against a short-handed La Trobe, the Thunder ran riot in the first and last terms, kicking 11..

Scott Baxter opened the Bendigo Athletic Club’s season in style on Sunday, when he took out the Jim Summers 4.8km handicap held around the outskirts of the Wellsford Rifle Range, Baxter ran a time of 17 minutes and 55 seconds to win the John Bailey Concreting-sponsored event by 50 seconds ov..