Festive fun and games
Downs athletes ready for Christmas Day
SOME of our leading athletes will get to enjoy Christmas this year fully while others will still have one eye on their next game.
Talented athletes from across the region will spend Christmas with friends and family but will do so in a variety of ways.
Toowoomba football talent Pierce Clark will not get the chance to relax too much on Sunday as he prepares for the Newcastle Jets’ next A-League game against Wellington Phoenix on Boxing Day at Hunter Stadium.
Clark is yet to make his A-League debut but has been a regular fixture in the top squad as reserve goalkeeper and has to be ready if called upon.
But he will still have his family around him on Christmas Day.
“We have a game on Boxing Day so my family are coming to Newcastle from Toowoomba,” Clark said.
“Just a quiet one because we have training on Christmas morning so I am pretty happy they could come all this way.”
Warwick cricketer Delissa Kimmince and Kingaroy quick Holly Ferling are in the same boat as their Brisbane Heat team has a Women’s Big Bash League game against the Melbourne Stars in Brisbane on Boxing Day.
It is also a busy time of year for racing participants on the Darling Downs like trainers and jockeys.
There is racing at Clifford Park today but luckily the meeting is scheduled for during the day rather than the usual twilight time slot allowing people to get home to spend Christmas Eve night with family.
They will not have a long break though as racing is at Warwick’s Allman Park on Boxing Day.
Jockeys will not get to tuck into too much Christmas ham as they need to make weight the next day.
But plenty of out top athletes will get time off to spend with family and friends.
Olympian Patrick Tiernan will split his time between his father’s side of the family in Brisbane and his mother’s side on the Sunshine Coast.
And while he will go for a run in the morning, Tiernan is keen to eating whatever is on offer.
Olympic rugby sevens gold medallist Gemma Etheridge will get to spend Christmas in New South Wales with her extended family as it will be a rare occasion to spend the day with her sisters and their partners.
“I’m going back to our family farm near Walcha this Christmas,” she said.
“It’s the first time in five years my sisters and our partners have been together for the break and I’ve very much looking forward to it.
“We normally have a quiet day with lunch followed by a relaxing afternoon of bush walking, cricket or whatever is going.”