Media Release
Pacific School Games Athlete Profiles II
24 November 2005
Miles from the Rock off to Pacific School Games
Like a lot of energetic teenagers, Steven Miles plays a lot of sport.
The talented 13-year-old plays Australian Rules football, touch football, indoor soccer, volleyball and netball - and has represented the NT in darts, cricket and basketball.
The NT Open Education Centre student is the lone Yulara resident in the Territory’s Pacific School Games team from 26 November to 4 December – and will be among 180 fellow athletes and 45 officials to depart for Melbourne this weekend.
Steven has come a long way in a short period of time. He had not played a structured game of basketball until May when he participated in the intra-Territory basketball exchange. Such was his natural ability, the selectors immediately included him in the Pacific School Games squad.
Steven gained some valuable representative experience as a member of the Alice Springs representative team the Southern Suns at the Under 14 Australian Club championships in Adelaide in October.
Lily finds form in lead up to Games
Parap Primary schoolgirl Lily Burrow has hit peak form at the right time. The 11-year-old swam 3:06.50 to break the long-standing Territory 200m breaststroke record by two seconds at Casuarina Pool last month.
She will represent the Territory in four events – the 50m and 100m breaststroke and the 50m and 100m butterfly - at the Pacific Schools Games in Melbourne from 26 November to 4 December.
She is regarded a strong chance of making at least one final.
Lily’s older sister Lauren, a national age-ranked junior, is also in the Territory’s 52-strong swimming squad.
Lauren who attends Darwin High School will compete in the 50m butterfly, the 200m individual medley, the 50, 100 and 200m freestyle.
Two other Darwin High School students – Sarah Butler and Kia King – have national age rankings. Sarah, ranked eighth, will line up in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke as well as the 100 and 200m freestyle. Kia will contest the 14-year girls 100m breaststroke, an event in which she is tipped to make the final, as well as the Open 200m breaststroke, the girls 13-15 200m individual medley and the 100m butterfly.
Abala sisters to walk the walk at Games
Fleet-footed sisters Sherkeira and Tisharlia Abala both want to return home from the Pacific School Games in Melbourne next month with medals.
The Alice Springs girls both broke Territory walking records in September.
Twelve-year-old Sherkeira set a record in the 1500m and became NT champion in the process. Tisharlia, 11, emulated her sister’s achievement in the 1100m.
The girls, who train seven days a week, expect to record personal best times and would settle for a top-10 finish if they can’t realise their dream of winning a medal.
Other Alice Springs athletes to have improved their times recently include Amity Goldring, 10, who will contest the 100m and the long jump, and Thomas Hampton, 11, who will compete in the 100m sprint, 80m hurdles and the shot put.
Coach Stephan Goldring said both youngsters had applied themselves at training where they had posted better times.
“They will represent the Territory well,” he said.