The 2007 Be Active North West Championships and the North West Junior Development Camp will be conducted in Broome this weekend 2 – 3 June 2007.
11 Mixed Open teams will contest the tournament, travelling from Karratha, Port Hedland, and Tom Price in the Pilbara region.
Described as “an Oasis in the desert” the tourist centre that boasts the beautiful Cable Beach on one side and Roebuck Bay on the other provides a sensational setting for the 2007 Be Active North West Championships.
The tournament provides a unique format with extreme heat influencing the scheduling of games.
Games commence at 9.00am and go into recess around 12.00pm each day to allow competitors to gain some respite from “frying egg on the pavement” temperatures.
The competition recommences around 3.00pm and concludes at 6.00pm.
The break in play allows competitors and officials the opportunity to relax by the beach and immerse themselves in the laid back local lifestyle.
Touch West State Branch Manager Matt Bamford and Touch West Game Development Officer Angela Doyle have travelled to Broome to provide development assistance for the weekend to one of their most remote, but committed affiliates.
Despite being a two and a half hour plane flight from Perth, Touch Football in Broome is alive and well, and the fun and social aspects of the sport is also thriving in the 15,000 strong population who look forward to their annual Touch Football fix through their participation in the North West Championships.
In a snapshot of life in any remote locality the nation over, “Doyley” and “Matty” were standing on the back of a Ute, gazing up at a star filled sky, swapping tall tales and consuming a few quite ales with the North West touch community at the time of this interview.
Our passion for the game and the social aspects of the sport are exemplified in the philosophy and spirit of competition on show at the North West Championships.
It’s not all cheers, beers, and free swims though, there is also some very serious Touch Football to be played by a raft of teams who are chasing down the 2007 crown.
Karratha will be the team to beat, having collected an incredible six titles in a row.
Karratha will be led strongly by player-coach Julie Fitzroy.
Julie has extensive coaching experience having previously been the Assistant Coach of Australian Senior Teams contesting European Championships, Assistant Coach of the Barbarians Women’s Senior NTL team, Co-coach of the Barbarian Women’s Open team, and Coach of WA 18 Years Boys and Girls teams.
Julie has also been a member of the Karratha side for 12 years and featured in five of the six consecutive titles.
Julie will be aided in Karratha’s quest for a seventh straight title by a close family connection.
Husband Brian Fitzroy is a former Australian representative player and has played in all of the past six title victories. Brian and Julie’s son Jacob, 14, will add youth to the side while nephew Corey, 20, will also be an asset.
The Karratha team has lost a few of the young guns in their regular line-up as Industry is currently booming in Karratha, and work commitments have eaten into the depth of the defending champions.
“We’ve got the basis of a good team but obviously we’ve had to include older more mature people instead of taking the younger ones away, because they’re all committed to work at the moment,” Julie said.
Despite the perceived lack of youth, the experience in the team is sure to hold the Titleholders in good stead, as they look to bag title number seven.
Broome Touch Association will have the home ground advantage for the third year in a row, and will be desperate for victory in familiar surroundings. Broome will be coached by 15-year-old rising star Dan King, who has represented the WA Under-15 side for the past three years.
Hedland Touch will be looking to break Karratha’s dominance of the tournament, with 2007 Barbarians Mixed Open player Arthur Ramirez leading the charge.
Lincoln Tavo, brother of Australian Mixed Open World Cup superstar Rebecca, will also be a key figure in Hedland’s charge for the 2007 crown.
Hedland will be especially determined to get one back, having gone down narrowly 6-4 in last year’s final.
Despite the impressive talent on display in the aforementioned line-ups, Julie Fitzroy believes Tom Price will provide the biggest challenge to the reigning premiers.
“I’ve heard along the grapevine that Troy Metcalfe, who is one of the recent Barbarians players, is playing with Tom Price, so I would probably say Tom Price will be strongest, Julie said.
For Julie, considering the less-than-ideal preparation, a seventh consecutive title for Karratha would be the icing on the cake.
“Everyone that’s going is very committed and competitive. No one wants to lose so we’ll definitely be a force to be reckoned with. It’s just whether the old legs will be able to carry us through the whole tournament,” she said.
Whether successful or not, the old legs won’t get any rest after the North West Championships.
Karratha will be one of two WA teams travelling to Malaysia next week to contest the 2007 Asian Championships.
In 2005 Karratha won a silver medal at the same competition in Singapore.
“We can’t wait to get over [to Malaysia]. Although knowing that we’ve got 14 games in two days is not that exciting. It’s going to be a bit tough, it’s an open division and we’re more of a masters team, everyone is over-35,” Julie said.
This weekend is sure to provide the perfect lead in for Karratha who will take form and fitness into the 2007 Asian Championships.
The North West Championships will also provide an opportunity for junior players to impress.
The Junior Development Program, backed by the WA Department of Sport & Recreation, will be held as part of the regional academy program with a view to identifying talent for the 2007 WA State squads.
Current Australian World Cup Women’s Open star and WA 18 Years Girls Coach Shelley Matcham, and WA GDO and former Australian Open Mixed World Cup winner Angela Doyle, will conduct the junior development camp.
The dynamic duo of Doyle and Matcham provides the WA Youth Program with an exceptional level of knowledge, experience, and expertise, with both current Barbarians Women’s Open stars amongst the brightest young female coaches in the sport.
Doyle, Head Coach for the WA teams at the 2007 National 18 Years Touch League, is excited by the prospect of formalizing a pathway for the North West players and the chance to bolster WA’s elite junior program.
“WA didn’t field a side at last year’s National 18s, so it’s nice to get things back on track. Because of the costs involved in travelling two and a half hours by plane from Perth to Broome we only get a chance to visit the affiliate twice a year, so we try to use our time wisely and really make every development effort count,” Doyle said.
This year is the first that the camp has been run in conjunction with the championships.
The camp will involve fitness testing, general games and skill development sessions.
There will also be Athlete Management sessions with sessions on nutrition, recovery, and standards and expectation of 18 Years representative level players.
30 boys and girls will be involved in the camp ranging from 13-18 years of age.
The players from the camp will also be competing in the tournament, in the 18 Years, open, or social division.
Some players will compete in multiple divisions to test their ability and skill level in a tournament that has become a fixture on the WA calendar.
Players identified will be invited to a second camp in Perth, which will also involve the best youth players from metropolitan areas.
The Under-15 camp will be held by Touch West in conjunction with WA School Sport on the 10 – 11 of June 2007, whilst the Under-18s camp will be conducted under the direction of Angela Doyle and the appointed WA Youth coaches, Shelley Matcham (Girls) and Perth Brothers Men’s Open star player Toby Hohapata (Boys) on 23 – 24 June 2007.
The 15 Years Camp will be used as the selection vehicle for the WA 15 Years team to compete in the Touch Football Australian Schools Championships, 22 – 26 October 2007 in Victoria.
The 18 Years Team will contest the National Youth Tournament in Coffs Harbour, NSW, from 17 – 20 September 2007.
Four players from Western Australia are currently in National Youth squads, Sharon Wong and Charlie Simpkins (Women’s 20s), Blane Edwards (Boys 18s), and Jenaya Quan (Girls 18s), will attend the National Youth Camp on the Sunshine Coast from 28 June – 2 July 2007.
With such great strides being made in junior development all over Western Australia and with a commitment to driving a pathway towards State level representation, the number of Australian Youth Players from WA is sure to swell in coming years.
Meanwhile…
The locals are sure to load up the Ute, turn on the star encrusted night sky, and shout her a drink or two when Angela Doyle travels back to Broome in July to launch an AusTouch program for youngsters in the area.
From AusTouch to All Star to Asian Games …the pathway is now lit for the next generation of North West, Touch West, and Barbarians super stars to aspire towards.
