Sports personalities star in week of action for Exmouth kids

The Groms frothed and the skateboarders ripped it up at the inaugural Exmouth Festival of Sport this week.

More than 400 young people took advantage of free skills development clinics and have-a-go sessions in soccer, ultimate frisbee, surfing and skateboarding, and a regional AFL competition against teams from the Gascoyne and the Pilbara.

Shire of Exmouth chief executive Bill Price said feedback from participants, parents and the State Sporting Associations that took part in the event had been excellent, and he was thrilled that the event had been such a success.

“We were really fortunate to have had a wide variety of sports represented and high-calibre coaches, including Jamie Harnwell from Football West and WA Ultimate’s Anna Haynes here running events,” he said.

“The surfing sessions were a huge success. As well as learn to surf and high-performance coaching clinics, the Surfing WA crew also did some judging training for the local boardriders and hosted a 365 Surf Rescue clinic.

“The surf rescue course was really well attended and gave our young surfers some really practical knowledge and skills they can use to help if they see someone in trouble in the surf.”

Exmouth PCYC centre manager Lauren Rampling said the AFL carnival was an excellent opportunity for Exmouth footballers to pit their skills against teams from Geraldton and the Pilbara towns of Karratha and Port Hedland.

“Our Exmouth footballers revelled in the opportunity to compete against other regional teams and it was a fantastic team-building exercise for the travelling teams to come here, camp at the town hall and represent their towns on the field,” she said.

Social events, including an extreme sports movie night at the skate park and a PCYC disco, ensured everyone had the opportunity to join in the spirit of the festival even if they did not take to the field.

BHP Billiton Australia operations manager Clive Jones congratulated the Shire and Youth Action Exmouth participants on a successful event.

“The enthusiasm and passion shown by the young people throughout the Festival of Sport demonstrates the importance of the program, which supports skill development in young people, creating an invaluable and empowering experience,” he said.

“I would like to thank the Shire for their efforts, both on the YAE Program and the Festival of Sport — it has been a great success.

“The YAE program gets better each year, and I can’t wait to see what the Shire and youth decide to do next.”

Mr Price said the Shire would aim to hold the event again next year.