Sydney to fight Shep for Games
REGIONAL Victoria’s bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games took a step forward yesterday — but it now faces stiff competition from western Sydney to hold the event.
The northern rival has already thrown the first sledge against regional Victorians and Shepparton — which has led the charge to win the Games — with a western Sydney organiser asking yesterday when “sheep shearing and fruit picking” had become Commonwealth Games sports.
The 2030 Commonwealth Games taskforce met Regional Cities Victoria for the first time yesterday to advance discussions for the state’s bid.
RCV, which represent the state’s 10 biggest councils, has asked to be involved in planning and strategy sessions.
A special meeting of all councils will be held in May.
Ballarat mayor Samantha McIntosh, who was at yesterday’s meeting, said it was positive for regional Victoria to work together.
“It’s a very big vision,’’ she said. “It’s a great opportunity for regional Victoria to work together and develop great sporting opportunities that can take us into the future.
“We’re in the early phases of having some big conversations.”
The group gathered in Melbourne yesterday but the next three taskforce meetings will be held in Ballarat, Geelong and Bendigo.
Formal correspondence will go out from taskforce chair Adem Karafili this week to secure the dates.
“It makes sense to further engage regional councils as they will be the most important players in stage one of the feasibility study,’’ he said.
Western Sydney aims to host the Games in 2026 or 2030.
Its bid leaders will outline their proposal to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and sports minister Stuart Ayres today.
Summit organiser Christopher Brown from the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue said: “The Victorians have a history when it comes to pinching our major events.”
“When did sheep shearing and fruit picking become Commonwealth sports?” SAMANTHA Lopez is desperate to help find a way for her mum Angela — who has the rare blood cancer multiple myelomato — to get back to full health.
Since the July 2015 diagnosis, Samantha and her family, including dad Pedro, sisters Evita and Christie and brother Anthony, have been researching treatments, which led them to discover bone marrow donation and the bone marrow register system.
Devastatingly, Angela does not currently have a match on the global donor registry with 70 per cent failing to find a match within their family.
That means they rely instead on a search of donors on the national bone marrow registry, known as the ABMDR.
Samantha hopes to sign more people up to the donor registry at the Italian Riviera-themed fundraiser La Dolce Vita she will host in honour of her mum in July.
It will raise awareness for the condition and money for the Andrew Love Cancer Centre.
“I want to encourage people to sign the ABMDR registry and break down the stereotypes of everyone thinking it is a painful procedure,” Samantha said.
“People do not realise that a little discomfort will not only save a cancer patient’s life but an entire family.” Advertiser gt Weekend