The South West Queensland township of Dalby is celebrating after local school St. Columba's collected two of the three divisions on offer at the Inaugural Queensland Primary Schools Touch (QPST) Championships held at Redlands Touch Association on 11-12 November 2006.
43 Teams took their places across three hotly contested divisions comprising Boys 12 Years, Girls 12 Years, and Mixed 12 Years sections.
Round games and Championship and Plate Series finals were played on a day that showcased the growth and development of the sport in the Primary School system in the South East Queensland corner.
St. Columba's, coached by Queensland Women's 35 Years State of Origin representative Sandy Gleeson, claimed a hard fought 2 - 1 victory over Redlands in the Boys 12 Years Final.
St. Columba's impressed with a dominant display in the Girls 12 Years final with a resounding 7 - 2 victory over John Paul College.
In the closely contested Mixed 12 Years division, Moorooka got home in a 3-2 thriller over Marshall Road.
In the Plate Finals, North Lakes claimed the Girls and the Boys Plate finals with victories over Oakleigh (Girls)and St. Matthew's(Boys).
Dalby South gave the country town more to cheer about when they collected the Mixed Plate final 3 - 2 over Highfields.
Touch Football Queensland Development Officer Terry Mc Sweeney, who oversees the development efforts of many South West Queensland affiliates, was full of praise for the efforts of the St. Columba's and Dalby South teams and paid tribute to the work being done in the South West area by teachers and volunteers.
"The Dalby competition has around 30 teams, they attended the Junior State Cup this year and they continue to thrive. This is a great result and a shot in the arm for the local junior competition and the future of Touch in the area. The volunteers and Teachers who put so much effort into developing the game need to be commended." Mc Sweeney said.
The tournament was jointly conducted by Touch Football Queensland and Queensland Primary Schools Touch and was an overwhelming success in it's Inaugural year.
Tournament Convenor, Queensland Touch's Events Member Services Officer Gary Madders, was thrilled with the outcome of the competition.
"The tournament was not originally slated for this year, so to get such a wonderful response off the back of six weeks of planning is fantastic. Jason Boyd from QPST deserves a lot of credit for his work in organising the schools from his end. The referees worked hard and volunteer Todd Howard coordinated the referees tremendously well for the duration of the two day tournament." Madders said.
Redlands Touch Association provided a perfect venue for the event and will host the tournament again on the 10 - 11 November 2007.
Grand Final Results
Championship Series:
Boys Final St. Columba's 2 def Redlands 1 Girls Final St. Columba's 7 def John Paul College 2 Mixed Final Moorooka 3 def Marshall Road 2
Grand Final Plate Series:
Boys Plate Norht Lakes 7 def St. Matthews 2 Girls Plate North Lakes 1 def Oakleigh 0 Mixed Plate Dalby South 3 def Highfields 2
