Lollies ‘n Cricket Balls

Kathryn wrote to us wanting to know what jaffa means in cricket or if it was slang for something else. Actually jaffa is slang in cricket for a ball that moves through the air or off the pitch so much that it is very difficult for a batsman to play successfully. Jaffa is also the name of a popular lollie (candy) in Australia. So you can eat Jaffa while watching a jaffa.

Speaking of cricket, if you ever wondered what cricket is all about, here’s a good Aussie website with an extensive glossary to help you understand the rules and the slang.

eBay Auction for a
Crew Spot on Yacht Race

SOLAS Big Boat Challenge
12:30pm, Tues. 10 December 2013
Nielsen Park, Sydney Harbour

How would you like to sail on a yacht that will later be in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race?

Several yachts are each offering a spot onboard to the highest bidder and one guest for the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge. Bidding for some spots start at $250 on eBay.

This is the seventh year that the fleet race to raise awareness and money for the CYCA’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Trusts.

Place your bid

Several Rolex Sydney Hobart entrants as well as others offer places onboard for the auction. Bid today for your chance to sail on board one of these yachts. Bidding closes 6 Dec. 2013.

eBay links, some bids start as low as $250:
Wild Oats XI, Perpetual LOYAL, Wild Thing, Brindabella, Southern Excellence II, Giacomo, Black Jack, Terra Firma, and Ginger.

Established in 1999, the CYCA’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Trusts has donated in excess of $850,000 to search and rescue organisations all across Australia. They also provide assistance (financial and other) to immediate families of those lost at sea during Yachting Australia sanctioned races.

Bathurst 804 !?

Ernie wrote us that the “Bathurst 1000 wasn’t simply ‘known’ as the Bathurst 500 prior to ’72. It was raced over the shorter distance of 804.6km being 500 miles.”

In fact the race was first called the Armstrong 500 and held at Phillip Island, Victoria (1960-2). It was then moved to its permanent location at Mount Panorama Bathurst NSW for the 1963 race.

During the 1960s the race was 500 miles (not kilometres) long. It wasn’t until 1973 that the race changed to the metric system and became the Hardie-Ferodo 1000.

500 miles doesn’t equal 1000km, but they also added 33 more laps to the race and so the name change fits.

See our 52 years of Bathurst 1000 Winners

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

Thursday 10 Oct to Sunday 13 Oct 2013

A new era of Australian motorsport is about to begin as Erebus Motorsport and Nissan come to battle Ford and Holden in Bathurst NSW.

After a 19 year absence, Mercedes-Benz has returned for the Bathurst 1000 race. Holden is hoping to secure their 30th Bathurst victory.

This year’s race marks the 20th Bathurst 1000 Craig Lowndes has started in. He’s hoping to add another win to his previous 5 wins here. If he adds 1 more podium finish to the 8 he has now, Lowndes will tie with Peter Brock, Larry Perkins and Jim Richards for the record.

Network 7 television broadcast schedule of the Bathurst 1000 for Brisbane is Friday – 12 to 3pm, Saturday – 11am to 5pm, Sunday – 6am to 5pm. Please consult your local listings for times in your own city.

Off Track Events 2013

Official V8 Supercars Transporter Parade
WED … starts 11:15am, Lower William Street to Kings Parade. FREE.

Driver Autograph Session
WED … starts 12:15pm, Russell Street. Also B-Rock Barbecue, jumping castles, face painting.

Bathurst Harness Racing
Great Race Carnival
WED … starts 6pm, Bathurst Showground, Great Western Highway.

National Motor Racing Museum
“Legendary Moments” Dinner
THUR … starts 6.30pm, Rydges Mount Panorama

RCG Locksmiths V8 Race Ball
FRI … 6.30pm, Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre

Sunset Drive-in Cinema
FRI & SAT … 7.30pm, Bathurst Showground. Movies – Fast & the Furious 6 (Fri) and Despicable Me 2 (Sat)

Great Race Street Fair
SAT … 10am to 6pm, Kings Parade, Russell Street. FREE. Live onstage entertainment, rides, activities, food and market stalls.

Super Cheap Bathurst 1000 Race
SUN … Mount Panorama.

For more Event Information

• Bathurst government website

Green Moon Wins 2012 Melbourne Cup

Green Moon won the two-mile 2012 Melbourne Cup race by a length and a half over the second place winner Fiorente with Jakkalberry third and Kelinni fourth.

If you had picked the First Four Winners, you would have earned almost a million dollars – $969,406.60.

Green Moon’s Cup win may have come as a surprise to many after his poor 7th place Cox Plate performance last month. Melbourne Cup 2011 winner Dunaden finished 14th this year. Americain, the 2010 Melbourne Cup winner had a dismal 11th place finish. Of the 24 Melbourne Cup starters, 18 horses were bred in Europe. Only two were bred in Australia (Niwot and Ethiopia) with only the latter bred from Australian horses. The Cup was presented by the Duchess of Cornwall.

• 2012 Melbourne Cup results and 150 years of winners

Melbourne Cup Trivia

Shawnie asked us to “name all the women in the Cup.” First woman owner to win: Mrs EA Widdis with Patrobas (1915). First female jockey: M Lyndon on Argonaut Style (1987). First Aussie female jockey: Clare Lindop on Debben (2003). For more Melbourne Cup Trivia.

Dunaden Wins the 2011 Melbourne Cup

As pretty much all Aussies know by now, Dunaden took 1st place with Red Cadeaux 2nd and Lucas Cranach 3rd at the 2011 Melbourne Cup. Last place was Modun.

What people outside Australia don’t understand is how much we love this horse race. Who wouldn’t love getting time off work to party and place a bet. Even our pollies didn’t want to miss the race. (Federal Parliament’s Question Time was brought forward by half an hour.)

Premonition for the coming election? The ABC News reported that our Prime Minister tipped Manighar to win while the opposition leader Tony Abbott selected Dunaden.

We’ve updated our race info and added a Cup trivia page. See our Melbourne Cup winners since 1861.

2011 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

The Bathurst 1000 is known among many Aussie race fans as simply “The Great Race”. The race on 9 October 2011 saw Nick Percat become the first rookie winner of the race since 1977. Although veterans Loundes and Skaife were 2nd place winners, they did not lead a single lap all day. Congratulations once again to Holden.

We’ve updated our race information to include this year’s winners. See our Bathurst 1000 winners since 1960.

Trivia – A Sports First

In 1788 First Fleet ships’ crews held a rowing race becoming the first sporting event held in Australia.

Brownlow Medal Winners 2011 & 2012

Collingwood midfielder Dane Swan was awarded the Chas Brownlow Trophy 26 September 2011. So we added a list Brownlow Medal Winners since 1924 to our website.

Update: Jobe Watson from Essendon was awarded the Brownlow Medal for 2012.

eBay Auction for a Crew Spot on Yacht Race

SOLAS Big Boat Challenge
12:30pm, Tues. 10 December 2013
Nielsen Park, Sydney Harbour

How would you like to sail on a yacht that will later be in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race?

Several yachts are each offering a spot onboard to the highest bidder and one guest for the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge. Bidding for some spots start at $250 on eBay (links below).

This is the seventh year that the fleet race to raise awareness and money for the CYCA’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Trusts.

Place your bid
Several Rolex Sydney Hobart entrants as well as others offer places onboard for the auction. Bid today for your chance to sail on board one of these yachts. Bidding closes 6 Dec. 2013.

Some bids start as low as $250 for the following boats: Wild Oats XI, Perpetual LOYAL, Wild Thing,  Brindabella, Southern Excellence II, Giacomo, Black Jack, Terra Firma, Ginger.

Established in 1999, the CYCA’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Trusts has donated in excess of $850,000 to search and rescue organisations all across Australia. They also provide assistance (financial and other) to immediate families of those lost at sea during Yachting Australia sanctioned races.