Monthly Archives: February 2012

SYDNEY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A-League club Gold Coast United will continue to defy Football Federation Australia (FFA) and send their players out in a strip bearing the slogan “Freedom of Speech” for the remainder of the season.

The FFA considered cancelling Gold Coast’s match against Melbourne Victory at the weekend because of the slogan, which replaced the logo of club sponsors Hyatt on the front of the team’s shirts.

The row is muddied because of the ongoing war of words between outspoken club owner Clive Palmer and the FFA and its chief executive Ben Buckley.

Club chief executive Clive Mensink said on Monday that the FFA had “overreacted” to the use of the slogan, which he said was being used to highlight the plight of refugees.

“It is public knowledge that Mr Palmer’s group of companies are in a legal dispute with the Hyatt and, as a result, the club wasn’t comfortable playing with the Hyatt brand on the playing strips,” Mensink said in a statement.

“It was suggested internally that as a replacement, something non-controversial would serve as a message to the broader community.

“We currently have two African refugees playing for the club who have experienced what it is like to live in a country fighting for freedom of speech.

“We thought it was an innocent term as we all recognise in Australia that freedom of speech is something we all respect.”

The FFA issued a statement on Saturday saying the club, currently bottom of the 10-team league with four rounds remaining, was in “material breach” of its Club Participation Agreement (CPA) over the use of the slogan.

“The club did not have FFA approval for usage of the slogan on the playing strip and on stadium signage as required under the terms of its participation in the A-League,” Buckley said.

“FFA directed the club not to use the slogan on the playing strip or in signage… The club declined to comply with the FFA direction and proceeded regardless.”

Palmer, a billionaire mining magnate, said last week that soccer was a “hopeless” game and that he preferred rugby league, a comment which Buckley condemned as “offensive to the players, coaches, administrators and volunteers who are the life and soul of Australian football”.

Mensink said the slogan had nothing to do with the row.

“It is our constitutional right to embrace this message and we don’t believe FFA should have the power to intervene,” Mensink added.

“Fans and the public deserve to know and have the right to freedom of speech, and it’s a slogan which will keep until the end of the season and possibly next season as well.”

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by John O’Brien)

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Australia club to defy league over 'freedom of speech'

Freedom's Carol Byrnes led almost the entire series of 11 dives to take the 3A girls portion of the District 11 diving championships Saturday at Emmaus.

Byrne, who finished third in the LVC meet two weeks ago, easily outdistanced her nearest competitor, Amanda Zerphy of Parkland, 406.20 to 387.70. Courtney Fox of Nazareth finished third with a score of 343.50.

On the boys side, Jacob Lenhart of Parkland repeated his triumph in the lVC meet. Like Byrne, he led through the final eight dives after duking it out with Easton's Brandon Roman through the first three. Mitchell Keller of Parkland finished second, 40 points behind his teammate.

Central Catholic swept the 2A competition, with both Nick Crouse and Nicole Sagle handily winning their halves of the meet.

"It was a tough competition," Byrnes said. "I'm usually the one who finishes third or second, but today I came out on top. It's due to all my hard work."

Byrnes qualified for states last year by finishing third in the district meet. Last year three District 11 divers were invited. This year only two in each division qualify.

"Some days you're on and some you're off," she said. "I just practice all the time. I'd better do better at (states at) Bucknell. I'll have to plan my dives better and put all my higher DDs (degree of difficulty) up front so I'll be sure of making it through all three rounds."

Byrnes dives with a brace on her left wrist. "I had surgery on the wrist about a year ago and I wear the brace for absorption when I hit the water."

Zerphy said she thought she had a rougher start in this meet than in the LVC meet. Even still, she led after the first round of dives.

"Carol definitely deserved to win," Zerphy said. "She works really hard. No one trains to come in second, but sometimes you have those days. It wasn't that good a day. I was nervous. This is the first year I actually had a chance to go to states."

"I was pretty happy with my scores," Lenhart said. "I had a couple of off dives, but that happens. I can improve a little bit at Bucknell. I think my experience at Bucknell will help. States was rough last year."

Lenhart scored 427.15 to 380.55 for Keller. Roman finished third with 355.85, after a poor fourth dive dropped him from first place to fourth.

"I'm really happy with how I finished," Keller said. "It wasn't my best score. There were a lot of nerves today and I had trouble getting it together. Jake's a great teammate and he helps me out a lot. I'm happy to have him as a teammate."

On the 2A side, Central Catholic's Nick Crouse could have waved off his final three dives and still won. Crouse led through the entire 11-dive program and also had the best dive in 10 of those dives, ceding to runner-up Dennis Bonner of Salisbury on the penultimate dive.

"Most of my dives were pretty good today," Crouse said. "I think I can improve on them. Hard practice and trying my hardest is probably why my dives were on today."

Crouse scored 410.0 to 284.75 for Bonner. Blue Mountain's Lyle Luckenbill finished third with a score of 200.85.

There was a scare in the eighth round when Schuylkill Haven's Jackson Fleagle hit the board with his legs on a spin. He was forced to withdraw and left the pool area with bandages on his left foot and right ankle.

In girls 2A competition, Central's Nicole Sagl led through the entire 11-dive program, much as Crouse did on the boys' side. She scored 404.85 to 322.75 for second place finished Melody Maclaughlin of Southern Lehigh.

"I was comfortable today," Sagl said. "I had trouble on my reverses, but everything else I thought was really, really good. I' ve never experienced states before, so I'm looking forward to it."

"I was a little off in some of my dives, but I felt comfortable throughout," Maclaughlin said. "I feel good about going back to states and hope I do better than last year. I think I can do a lot better out there than I did today."

John Heilig is a freelance writer

District 11 3A Girls Diving Championship

1: Carol Byrnes, Freedom, 406.20. 2: Amanda Zerphy, Parkland, 387.70. 3: Courtney Fox, Nazareth, 343.50. 4: Tiffany Keiper, Parkland, 340.60. 5: Kelsey Jehls, Easton, 338.80. 6: Julia Molloy, Allen, 307.36. 7: Brooke Fox, Nazareth, 292.40. 8: Maddy Hain, Parkland, 289.20. 9: Serena Speer, Emmaus, 288.20. 10. Meagan Ybarra, Nazareth, 287.55.

District 11 3A Boys Diving Championship

1: Jacob Lenhart, Parkland, 427.15. 2: Mitchell Keller, Parkland, 380.55. 3: Brandon Roman, Easton, 355.85. 4: Andrew Bock, Emmaus, 350.50. 5: Josh Anderson, Parkland, 311.65. 6: Steve Suender, Pottsville, 283.50. 7: Jaylen Banks, Parkland, 280.90. 8: Clint Speer, Emmaus, 247.85.

District 11 2A Girls Diving Championship

1: Nicole Sagl, Central Catholic, 404.85. 2: Melody Maclaughlin, Southern Lehigh, 322.75. 3: Danielle Juritsch, Blue Mountain, 303.00. 4: Emily Marshall, Southern Lehigh, 288.05. 5: Kelsey King, Southern Lehigh 251.10. 6: Lorissa Luckenbill, Blue Mountain, 237.65. 7: Caitlin McGarry, Schuylkill Haven, 218.30.

District 11 2A Boys Diving Championship

1: Nick Crouse, Central Catholic, 410.10. 2: Dennis Bonner, Salisbury, 284.75. 3: Lyle Luckenbill, Blue Mountain, 200.85. 4: JJ Apostolico, Central Catholic, 194.05. DNF: Jackson Fleagle, Schuylkill Haven.

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Byrnes leads Freedom to 3A title

Of all the quad-A boys basketball teams in Pennsylvania that qualify for postseason, only one ends its season with a win. That would be the team that is crowned state champion in Hershey.

Freedom was one of the many that fell short. The Patriots dropped a heartbreaking 47-45 decision to Parkland Saturday night in the District 11 Class AAAA quarterfinals at Easton Area Middle School.

It's doubtful that if Freedom had won Saturday it would have kept winning all the way to Hershey. But somehow it's rather shocking that a team that put forth such a magical season could have it end so soon.

Freedom, Parkland and Emmaus are arguably the three best teams in District 11 and the quirky playoff system landed all three of them in the same bracket.

Therefore, it was a foregone conclusion that at least one of the three wasn't going to the state playoffs.

"It's a shame, but that's just the way the brackets fell," Freedom coach Joe Stellato said. "It was two good teams going at it. Unfortunately we're going home."

As they have all season, the Patriots left it all on the floor Saturday night. They were a Jarrod Dilts 3-pointer away from advancing to Wednesday's semifinals against top-seed Emmaus.

When the ball left Dilts' hand, the trajectory looked perfect. The ball rattled the cylinder before agonizingly dropping off at the buzzer.

Parkland's Rob Dvoracek, a Temple football recruit, snatched the rebound with one second left and flung the ball toward the rafters. The buzzer sounded while the Trojans and their fans rejoiced in a wild celebration.  

"I thought it was in," Stellato said afterward. "It was a great look. He's a great kid and he deserved it. Unfortunately it just didn't fall for him."

Freedom was involved in a seemingly endless string of white knucklers (barn-burners) this season, and this reporter had the great fortune of covering many of them. I honestly can't recall seeing a team that played more high intensity, down-to-the-wire games than the Patriots the past couple months. "I knew this was a magical year," Stellato said. "There was something special going on in our locker room. The hardest thing to swallow is I don't get to coach the seniors on Monday."

The team was a joy to watch. They played the game with passion and integrity and never backed down until the clock read 0:00.

Stellato will dearly miss seniors Joe Lococo, Jordan Young, Tajmire Flood and Dilts.

"This is the toughest group of kids I've ever been around," Stellato said. "They're just tough kids physically and mentally. I just hope the younger guys learned by watching (the seniors)."

The raucous "Freedom Family" student cheering section turned out in large numbers all season and showed its support right to the end Saturday. After the game, the students appropriately began a "Freedom Family" chant that exemplified the best in good sportsmanship.

It was a season to remember for Freedom and one it might not duplicate for quite some time. It was also a season that ended just a little too soon.

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Freedom High School boys basketball team left it all on the floor

Freedom camping is permitted at Waterfall Creek, west of Wanaka. Photo by Barry Bruce.

Queenstown Lakes' freedom camping bylaws are being revisited to allow infringement fines to be enforced in line with the Freedom Camping Act of 2011.

Instant infringement fines of $200, or up to $10,000 for serious offences such as emptying a campervan sewage tank in a rest area, took effect on August 30 and enforcement began on September 16.

Freedom campers without self-contained vehicles can only stay overnight at licensed camping grounds or in designated camping areas, while those with toilet-equipped vehicles can camp anywhere outside the "no freedom camping" zones.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council introduced its freedom camping control bylaw before the Act was introduced and could issue infringements through transitional provisions of the Act.

However, these transitional provisions will be repealed on August 30, and in order to continue to issue infringements, the QLDC must make a new bylaw under the Act.

The Freedom Camping Control Bylaw 2012 will come before Tuesday's QLDC meeting and a report from community services general manager Paul Wilson recommends council adopt it for consultation.

It would differ from the present bylaw by extending the no freedom camping zone west of Wanaka to Glendhu Bay, extend the zone west of Queenstown from Sunshine Bay to Moke Lake Rd and extend the Queenstown zone east of Joe O'Connell Dr to Glenda Dr.

It would also remove the no freedom camping zone on the western shore of Lake Hawea as the land is not under council control and the zone could not be enforced under the Act or bylaw.

Mr Wilson's report said council was satisfied the 2011 bylaw had made "significant changes to the behaviour of the majority of responsible freedom campers visiting the district".

The number of freedom campers within no freedom camping zones had dropped, while camping in fully self-contained vehicles "continued to be popular", to the extent that overcrowding problems were experienced in Sunshine Bay, Queenstown and Waterfall Creek, just west of Wanaka.

Submissions on the proposal will be accepted until April 13, to be heard by a subcommittee of councillors in May.

It will come back before the council on June 26, possibly in an amended form, and if adopted would come into effect on July 1.

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Freedom camping bylaws revisited