Ground a score for vigoro
FOR the first time in more than 85 years, Cairns Vigoro Association has a home.
The club will celebrate with a grand opening event at their new headquarters at Johnson Park, Gordonvale, from 2pm today.
The afternoon will include an opening ceremony, a social game and a barbecue from 5pm, as well as registration support for the new season, which starts next weekend.
Club secretary Nadine Pinto said it was an exciting time for the sport in Cairns.
“A big thanks goes to the Pitt family, Warren and Curtis, who have always supported us wherever we are, and also to council who helped finally make this happen,” she said.
“I’ve been playing for 20 years and we’ve always played at different places, trying not to clash with hockey and cricket, so to have a facility we can call our own means a lot. It will enable us to build on the social aspect of our sport, which is already really strong.”
Lorraine McGill, who has played vigoro in Cairns for “about 50 years”, said it was a long time coming.
“In the late ’60s, we played fixtures all over the place – Aloomba, Freshwater, Edmonton, Gordonvale,” she said.
“I remember one of the older ladies used to ride her bike from Cairns to Edmonton with her gear bag on the handlebars. We’ve played in a lot of places since then, but this is the first time we’ve been allocated a home ground.”
Junior delegate Megan Shephard-Bartlett hoped it would help attract younger players.
“We’re looking for kids aged 6-14 years old,” she said.
“We have the junior state titles in Cairns in January, so we’re looking to recruit kids to play for our Cairns teams.”