PARKES won their maiden York Cup at their first attempt while Northern Sydney & Beaches won back to back Kim Small Shields when the biggest-ever York Cup and Kim Small Shield wrapped up in Tamworth yesterday.
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The annual development carnival continues to grow and this year saw a record 45 teams take part.
Parkes was one of several new sides, competing as a separate entity for the first time.
Previously, they’ve combined with other players as Western.
“Parkes hockey is strong at the moment,” coach Graeme Tanswell said.
“We’re giving the kids as many opportunities as possible to experience hockey outside of the area.”
The side was made up of 10 and 11-year-olds, and have had a good season, their York Cup success following on from a win in the Lithgow carnival earlier in the year.
They didn’t drop a game over the three days.
“It was a really good effort,” Tanswell said.
“We had no goals scored against us, which for me was a fantastic effort.”
Lachlan Searle was a standout in what was a strong team effort and was, following in the footsteps of his sister Meghan last year, named the Matthew Smith player of the tournament – for the boys.
Sydney East finished runners-up to them in A Division with Manning Valley topping B Division ahead of Port Macquarie.
Manning had a good weekend, taking out the Kim Small B Division. Dubbo were runners-up while fellow newcomers Canberra Gold finished behind a fairly dominant NSBHA side, who finished with 28 points.
This year also saw the introduction of a special new award, the Barbara York Team Award.
Named in honour of patron Michael York’s mother, the award recognised the team that best displayed the philosophies of the York Cup and Kim Small Shield.
The inaugural winners were the New England Sky York Cup team with special mention going to the Tamworth Frogs boys’ side.
