Fresh after claiming the Guinness World Record for being the fastest to harvest, mill and turn wheat into a loaf of bread, Parkes is now preparing to challenge another record – the most people bouncing a ball on a tennis racquet at one time.
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The attempt will take place on Saturday, November 16, when the Tennis Australia AO BLITZ Roadshow hits town.
Parkes Tennis Club is one of five major host towns for the community sporting activity that will see a full size tennis court temporarily marked out in Clarinda Street in front of Hay’s Giftware store.
Numerous mini courts will also be marked out in an area outside the Leagues Club and in front of Paint Place.
Here in Parkes more than 2000 people are predicted to take part in a full day’s activities.
Parkes Shire Council has agreed to a request from the club to assist in the staging of the event which will require liaison with the businesses in the area, traffic committee approval, road closures and notification to the police.
Funds will be taken from council’s Festivals and Functions Fund to assist with road closures, advertising and other associated works worth an estimated $6,782.
As the special promotion will take place in the lower Clarinda Street business precinct, it will result in the temporary closure of the area between Browne and Short streets during the hours of 8am and 4pm.
The day promises to be a unique `one-off’ sporting event – the likes of which has never been seen in Parkes before.
A fun day is promised for all the family and will include lots of activities for children including a schools challenge, speed serve activity and other novelty events.
The full sized tennis court will also be the venue for a charity tie-breaker shoot-out involving local businesses, emergency services and sporting groups where all money raised will support cancer research.
The court will be fenced off and a grandstand erected for the benefit of spectators watching the event.
The 2014 Australian Open Grand Slam trophies will be on display during the day and people will have the opportunity to have their photo taken with the prestigious and historic cups.
However, it is the Guinness World Record attempt that is certain to attract lots of attention and organisers are hoping the record will be well and truly broken here in Parkes.
The upcoming event was tabled at this week’s Parkes Shire Council meeting.
Mayor Ken Keith said the event had grown somewhat after his initial phone conversation with Parkes Tennis Club president Helen Magill.
A subsequent meeting had also taken place involving the club, a representative from Tennis Australia, Mayor Ken Keith and Council staff.
“This looks like being a prestigious event and a good promotional activity for the shire,” Cr Keith said.
Cr Michael Greenwood enquired as to why the area had been chosen as the preferred location.
General Manager, Kent Boyd replied that initially it had been planned to coincide with the staging of the newly founded markets proposed by the Parkes Chamber of Commerce.
Cr Belinda McCorkell who is a Council representative on the Chamber indicated that she believed this was still likely to be the case with the market stalls set up in Cooke Park.
Council was also informed that a report had been prepared and submitted to the Traffic Committee for consideration.
Cr Barbara Newton said that for Parkes to be one of only five areas in the state chosen to host the event reflected highly on the reputation of Parkes and particularly the Parkes Tennis Club.
“It is great recognition and a great compliment for us here in Parkes and especially our ability to run with these types of events,” Cr Newton said.
