Friday, December 19, 2003
Friday, December 19, 2003 |
|
Sports briefs Junior golf camp on tap for Christmas break The Wendell Coffee Golf Center will host junior golf camps during Christmas break for ages 6-15 to teach children the basics of golf and how much fun it can be. Each junior will receive different instruction according to his or her level of play. Lunch, drinks and prizes are included, and clubs are provided as needed. Cost is $85 for Dec. 22-23, $125 for Dec. 29-31, $45 for Jan. 2 and $85 for Jan. 5-6. Each day’s activities begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. Parents may drop kids off as early as 8 a.m. as needed. To sign up, call 770-969-4469 or stop by the Center on Ga. Highway 74 in Tyrone (2 miles south of I-85). Soccer leagues filled The Soccer Centre in Fayetteville announces that all age groups for the winter indoor youth leagues are filled and no more registrations can be accepted. There are, however, still positions open in the Iron-Man Tournament in January and the Atlanta 4-A-Side Championships in Jan. and Feb. For more information, visit www.soccercentre.info or call The Centre at 770-460-8785. County announces winter program The Fayette County Parks and Recreation Departement will be offering the following athletic programs: gymnastics, senior exercise, karate, Little Rookies basketball, cheerleading, Little Rookies baseball and soccer, water aerobics, introduction to shotgun use, yoga, Pilates, girls volleyball, and youth strength and conditioning. All athletic programs will begin after the new year. For further information on any of the programs contact Kevin Wingo at 770-461-9714. Little Rookies basketball coming to PTC The Peachtree City Recreation Department is offering Little Rookies Basketball beginning in January at the Kedron Fieldhouse and Aquatic Center for 3- and 4-year olds. Little Rookies Basketball teaches the fundamental basketball skills in a fun and non-competitive environment. Games and weekly drills teach children about basketball while allowing them to have fun. Sport Points (characteristics of sportsmanship) are taught each week. All instructors from TNLT (The Next Level Training) are qualified in basketball and undergo training in child development as well as first- aid. Sessions are six weeks and all participants receive a T-shirt and certificate. Little Rookies Basketball will be on Tuesday mornings from 9-9:45 a.m. or 10-10:45 a.m. The January session will begin Jan. 27 and run through March 9. The fee for the class is $60 per child and registration will begin Dec. 15. For more information, please contact Cajen Rhodes at 770-631-2525. Golf Card now on sale The Georgia State Park 5-Day Golf Card is available for purchase through the holidays. This popular multi-play card is valid for five days of unlimited green fees at any State Park Golf Course, and it can be used for twelve months from date of first play. It makes a great gift for that special golfer in your life. And it’s a perfect way to say “thank you” to clients, employees, and even vendors. For golfers who want a challenge, it’s a great way to sample the Georgia State Park Golf Courses. With the Georgia State Park Golf Card, you’re able to play as many holes as you like in a day at any of the 7 courses throughout the state, for a total of five days. Cart rental fees are additional and some restrictions apply. The Georgia State Park Golf Card is valid for play at all Georgia State Park Golf Courses, however unlimited daily green fees are valid only on the same course each day. The Georgia State Park Golf Card can be purchased online at www.GolfGeorgia.org or by calling toll free 1-800-982-3691. The Golf Operations Section develops and operates the golf facilities in the Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites Division. The seven courses were developed over the past forty years and placed in various state parks to improve the quality of life for local citizens and provide visitors to Georgia an opportunity to play golf in a beautiful, natural setting. Soccer Centre to host tournaments The Soccer Centre in Fayetteville will host several youth tournaments in January and February 2004. The first will be The Iron-Man Soccer Indoor Tournament for Under 11 through Under 18 boys teams. The tournaments will be held Jan. 2-4. For the 15th consecutive year, the Centre will host The Atlanta 4-a-Side Tournaments on Jan. 19 ( Martin Luther King Day) and Feb. 16 (Presidents’ Day) for Under 8 through Under 19 boys and girls teams. The Ice Breaker Indoor Challenge will be played Jan. 24-25 and Feb. 7-8 for Under 10 and 11 Academy boys and girls teams as well as Under 12 and 13 boys teams. For more information, visit www.soccercentre.info, or call The Centre at 770-460-8785. Karate class starts Jan. 7 Fayette County Parks and Recreation Department will be offering All-Star Karate with Tony Young. Class begins Jan. 7 and will end Jan. 28. There will be another session immediately following. For more information contact Kevin Wingo at 770-461-9714. Umpires wanted in District 4 Little League in Fayette and Coweta counties is looking for people interested in joining the District 4 Umpire Association. Interested persons must be 16 years of age or older and must pass a background check. Training clinics are coming up over the next several months and now is the time to get onboard. There are umpiring opportunities at the entry level for 7/8 year old games as well as for the Big League games for 16-18 year olds. Those interested must be reliable and must be willing to attend the local and state training clinics. Whether you have never umpired and are interested in getting the proper training to become an umpire, or if you are a seasoned umpire looking for an association with which to affiliate, contact Mike Wilson at 770-599-6095 or Justin Hogan at 404-379-5884. Visit the District 4 Web site at www.eteamz.com/ga4LLB. WRD announces holiday trout stocking This fall, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division will stock eight popular North Georgia streams with nine-inch trout to provide Georgia anglers with some extra holiday fishing opportunities. Many North Georgia trout streams are not open after Oct. 31, the end of the state trout season. However, these eight streams are part of a long list that remain open for year-round trout fishing. Fishing is an outstanding opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends so, make sure that fishing pole is on your Christmas list now! “Normally, the trout stocking program is completed by Labor Day so that hatchery space is available to grow fish for next year,” explained WRD Chief of Fisheries Management Chuck Coomer. “But, after four years of drought, the cool, wet summer of 2003 provided great growing conditions at the Lake Burton Hatchery and as a result, the hatchery is now a bit crowded and we need to free up some space for the smaller trout to grow to catchable size for next spring‚s stocking season.” Streams to be stocked prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas include the Chattahoochee River in Gwinnett County and in Helen, the Tallulah River (Rabun and Towns County), Panther Creek (Habersham/Stephens), the Broad River (Stephens), the Lake Hartwell Tailwater (Hart), the Lake Blue Ridge Tailwater (Fannin), Holly Creek (Murray), and West Armuchee Creek (Walker). Anglers must possess both a current Georgia fishing license and a trout license to fish in designated trout waters and to fish for or to possess trout. There is a daily limit of eight trout. Anglers are reminded to respect private property rights on streams flowing through private lands. The landowner controls access to, and fishing rights in, such streams so permission must be obtained before fishing on private property. WRD Conservation Rangers will enforce all trout stream rules and regulations. For more information on holiday trout stocking, contact the WRD Fisheries Management Office in Gainesville at 770- 535-5498. For more information on year-round trout fishing opportunities in Georgia, consult the fishing regulations booklet or visit www.gofishgeorgia.com. Wildlife license plates available The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division would like to remind Georgians to consider purchasing a new wildlife license plate for the vehicle when renewing their vehicle registration in 2004. The new tags go on sale beginning Dec. 1 at county tag offices throughout the state and can be purchased for a one-time specialty tag fee of $20 per tag. Annual registration fees and ad valorem tax still apply. Redesigned for 2004, the new wildlife tags will feature the American Bald Eagle silhouetted in front of the U.S. flag on one tag, and a Bobwhite Quail, Georgia’s state game bird, in natural habitat on the other. Both tags help support important conservation work currently underway throughout the state of Georgia. The eagle tag replaces the original wildlife license plate that featured a bobwhite quail in a longleaf pine and wiregrass habitat. First produced in 1997, this license plate was created to support the Nongame Wildlife & Natural Heritage Section, which uses the proceeds to fund various programs focused on conserving and protecting Georgia’s nongame and endangered wildlife. There are currently no state funds provided for nongame wildlife conservation, education and recreation programs and these important projects are funded solely through federal grants, direct donations and fundraising initiatives like the nongame wildlife license plate. To date, Georgians have purchased more than 900,000 nongame wildlife tags raising more than $13 million for nongame and endangered wildlife. The quail tag replaces the second wildlife license plate that featured a covey of quail taking flight over a field. First released in 2001, this tag supports conservation practices in the Bobwhite Quail Initiative, Georgia‚s first and only state funded private lands wildlife habitat incentive program. Georgia continues to lose natural habitat for quail, songbirds and other wildlife in part because of the state’s fast-growing human population rate and changing land management practices. Georgians have purchased more than 125,000 Bobwhite Quail Initiative tags raising more than $1.5 million for this important program. For more information on Georgia’s wildlife license plates and the important projects they support, contact the Georgia Department of Natural Resource, Wildlife Resources Division at 2070 U.S. Highway 278 SE, Social Circle, GA 30025 or by calling 770-918-6400. Trout stocked from helicopter in remote sections of Chattooga River Anglers will have much better luck fishing for trout in the Chattooga River in Northeast Georgia thanks to a recent joint stocking effort. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division, the U.S. Forest Service and the Georgia Council of Trout Unlimited stocked more than 20,000 rainbow trout utilizing a helicopter in remote parts of the Chattooga River. “This project is a great example of how a public/private partnership should work,” said Lee Keefer, WRD Fisheries Biologist. “Anglers are fortunate that Trout Unlimited and the Forest Service make this possible by providing the funding for the stocking effort.” The WRD Fisheries Management Section reared the rainbow trout at the Burton Trout Hatchery. The fish were stocked using a USFS helicopter with a bucket attached underneath it in a section of the river where natural reproduction is limited. They grow through the winter and will provide catchable size trout for anglers next spring. Trout fishing information is readily available. Anglers can get a copy of the current Georgia Sportfishing Regulations on the WRD Web site, at all WRD offices or through fishing license agents. This guidebook contains information on special trout stream regulations, general trout fishing information and more. Trout stream maps also are available at www.gofishgeorgia.com. Anglers must possess both a current Georgia fishing license and a trout license to fish in designated trout waters and to fish for or to possess trout. Anglers are reminded to respect private property rights on streams flowing through private lands. The landowner controls access to, and fishing rights in, such streams so permission must be obtained before fishing on private property. For more information on trout fishing in North Georgia, visit www.gofishgeorgia.com or call 770-535-5498.
|
Back to the Sports Home Page