The Times caught up with Andrew Corcoran from Boorowa Central School to talk everything netball and touch football after thousands of people descended on the Boorowa Showground last week. The tournament has been attracting generations of children’s since as far back as 1965 for Rugby League and 1968 for Netball, before changing to Touch Football in 1998.
The Times had a misprint last week, where based on a previous story written by others, we thought the carnival was nearing 80 years, however, it has been verified by Andrew that it’s closer to 59 years. Thanks Andrew.
He said, “The Boorowa Touch Football Netball Carnival was a roaring success.
“The colder weather forced people to buy a few extra steak sandwiches and coffees than normal, so that was good for the school’s fundraiser wise.”
“As far as the sport, everyone played in great spirits.”
“It was just massive. The amount of people was unbelievable. It was bigger than last year.”
“The marquee area between the netball and the rugby league field was jam packed and you could hardly walk through there.
“Traffic was pretty good. Everyone got there a bit earlier this year and it had calmed down by 9:30am.”
“We are excited to have it done and glad everyone got behind it.”
Andrew is a Head Teacher at BCS and teaches Maths, Science, Ag and PE.
He praised the efforts of Hilltops Council with the grounds.
“The Hilltops Council did an amazing job with the grounds. I’ve never seen the Showground look as spectacular as it did.
Everything was mown and prepared.”
“We were supported by Ted Hill and his team in getting it ready. Everything ran very smoothly.”
“The addition of the new building helps as there’s a lot more toilets and better canteen facilities.”
“Also the logistics of it. Having someone up the top with binoculars looking at parking when people were coming in and sending cars to different spots to try and get everyone into the grounds faster.
“It is one of Boorowa’s biggest events. There would have been 6000-7000 people there.
“There were cars parked from the Showground all the way back to the main road.
“You couldn’t get a park on any of the streets close to the Showground.
Andrew is hoping that a vacant area of land can soon be transformed to an athletics track and an extra playing surface.
“We’d like to upgrade the field that is there, so instead of the kids playing on a paddock, they would be playing on a resurfaced field, an actual level, proper grass field. We were lucky this year because of the rain we had, but in past years it has been a dust bowl.
“The whole idea is to put topsoil down, level it, and put irrigation in. There are currently ten small fields, so we would be able to increase that capacity as well.
Andrew used QR code technology to help keep spectators and participants informed to ensure the day went smoothly and also to support the new proposed field.
“I had QR codes around the grounds for people to sign the petitions.
Next project is the new field!