Sport
26 February, 2023
Vigoro in need of young players
DECADES ago, Vigoro was a popular sport in Queensland; it attracted cities and towns from north to south into fiery championships.
Today, Cairns Vigoro Association is fighting to bring the sport back into the spotlight.
Vigoro is a team sport combining elements of cricket and baseball, making for a fast-paced and competitive game.
The association has been introducing the game to locals for 90 years. Association president Lynelle Crappe said the organisation needed more junior players in 2023 to bring more attention to the sport.
“Previously, it used to be many centres, towns and cities competing,” she said.
“From Cairns down to Brisbane, this included Townsville, Mackay, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, so that’s how it used to be.
“It slowly dwindled away, the sport isn’t what it used to be, and now we have Cairns, Ipswich and Fassifern in Boonah.
“We believe the juniors are the way to go; we still want senior players, but to keep vigoro running, you need to have your juniors coming through.
“We’ve been doing a junior competition for many years; we run it for 10 weeks starting in July.
“Today, we only have two teams of juniors ranging from ages seven to 14.
“We send out flyers to all the local schools from Gordonvale to Edmonton down to Aloomba, and we get it into their school magazines to try and get more recruits,” Ms Crappe said.
With the 2023 season starting in July, right before the school holidays, Ms Crappe said the association would hold many events to attract junior players.
“On Saturday morning, June 17, we’re holding a colour run to attract more kids to come and try,” she said.
“From there, we will hold our sign-on day for tryouts right before the junior season.”
Ms Crappe said Vigoro Cairns constantly needed new players, scorers and umpires and she encouraged Cairns residents to fall in love with the exciting sport before the season begins in July.
“For those who may not know, Vigoro is a sport quite like cricket,” she said.
“Vigoro has basically the same rules as cricket but in a faster format, so you can be run out, bowled, caught, stomped, caught behind, lbw (leg before wicket), any way you can get out of cricket as well.
“However, Vigoro has two bowlers, one with a red ball, one with a white ball, and they bowl alternately, and there’s an umpire that regulates the bowling.
“The main difference is that it’s tipsy run, so if you hit the ball in front of the crease, you must run.
“You don’t need the experience to play; come along, have fun, and we’ll teach you as you go.
“We had six senior teams, but we’re hoping to build on that; some teams might struggle to get the 12 players in their team, so the more players we get, the better.
“We play in Gordonvale at Johnson Park on Saturdays, 2.30pm-5pm; it is a two-hour-and-a-half game.
“Our fees are approximately $100 for the whole season from July to December, so it’s an affordable sport, and we supply all the gear, the bats, the balls, the wickets and everything,” Ms Crappe said.
Ms Crappe said vigoro was a competitive yet friendly sport for people who enjoyed a fastpaced game.
“It’s a fast-action game, and it makes it more exciting when you’re playing,” she said.
“It’s fun and competitive, but all the teams are friendly and very social.
“We would welcome new members with open arms.”
During presentation night on February 18, the association celebrated its best players and team and bid farewell to the 2022 season in hopes of a dynamic 2023 season.
The awards, celebrated at Edge Hill Bowls Club, involved 93 participants and commemoration of iconic teams like PJays and the Mighty Ducks.
“During presentation night, we award the winners and runner-ups, and we give trophies to the most captures, the most runs, the most wickets taken for individuals and teams,” Ms Crappe, said.
“This year, our theme for the night was heroes and villains. Our season runs from July to December, so we celebrate the end of the season on presentation night.
“In 2022, we saw the team Mighty Ducks become the victors and PJays coming runner up; it was a very close competition overall.”
For more information and to join Cairns Vigoro Association, email cairnsvigoro@gmail. com, contact Lynelle Crappe at 0428126281 or Nadine Pinto at 0424252944.
