On Thursday 3rd of March the VFUA held the annual Mini Olympics and this year we witnessed the senior boundary umpires secure the Paul Anderson Shield. The weather played its role with the sun out on what proved to be a beautiful Melbourne night.
Restrictions on the use of the track saw the first ever indoor start to the night, with the pushups and situps playing out in front of a large crowd in the change rooms. Development Goal umpire Kirsty Lord impressed early, easily winning the sit-ups. The 4 x 200m relay was hotly contested as always, with results seeing the Development Field taking out the race with a close second from the Senior Boundary and third Development Boundary. The race was fierce which even saw a slight clash in the final leg between Senior Field and Development Field, causing a baton drop.
Development Field Umpires Celebrating a Goal
Once again, the soccer was a big hit for everyone, with the field umpires taking out the event on the back of some clinical finishing by Thomas Chrystie. The boundary throw in contest proved that the skill is not as easy as it looks – with a number of missed throws from the field and goal umpires resulting in boundaries taking out the title. Again, the bouncing contest was the final event of the night, which saw a tight contest and the senior goalies rising above the pressure to take out the last event of the night without missing a bounce.
As the numbers were slowly crunched to determine the winning team, President Michael presented the Anderson family with flowers and thanked them for their ongoing support to the association, in particular the great night that can be shared amongst all members and the Anderson family, in memory of Paul Anderson who tragically passed in 2001 fighting cancer.
Senior Boundary Squad with the Paul Anderson Shield
Results:
- Senior Boundary
- Senior Field
- Development Field 1
- Development Boundary
- Senior Goal
- Development Field 2
- Development Goal
Senior Boundary track representative Ryan O’Shea accepted the 2016 Paul Anderson Shield, and impressed all in attendance with his victory speech.
Michael Curtis (L) and Ryan O’Shea (R)
Of course, the Mini-Olympics is about more than just a night of fun and games. The VFUA would therefore like to acknowledge the following:
- Cam and Peter for allowing the event to be held
- The executive team for staging the event
- The trainers for assisting with the BBQ
- The umpires for their generosity and great spirit
- Leigh Keen for scoring & Kym Brockhoff for running the night
Tyler Hankinson and Patrick Burns for the organisation of the night
Not least, the Anderson family, whose commitment to attend each year makes the event worthwhile.