The annual Ettamogah Pub Australia Day Dunny Race will again be the highlight of events across the Sunshine Coast this Australia Day long weekend.
Three AFL Clubs from the Sunshine Coast will be rolling up their sleeves and pushing their dunny structures in the aim of championship supremacy.
Nambour and Hinterland, Maroochydore and Caloundra Australian Football Clubs will all be entering teams to contest the prestigious title.
The competition is building up following the results of last year’s event where the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagle Rugby League team pipped Maroochydore at the post.
This year the Maroochydore connections are primed to reclaim their title as Dunny Race champions that they held in 2010.
Maroochydore president, Craig Scrase said that the boys are keen to assemble a solid team to contest and hopefully claim the title.
“After being narrowly beaten by the League boys last year there is a sense of redemption amongst the group who are still deciding on a final team,” Scrase said.
“I overheard one of our well-known club members the other day state: ‘we need big strong lads with a bit of speed rather than whippets if we’re going to get this trophy back’.
“So the final team will be interesting but at the end of the day it is a fun community event to be involved in.”
The Dunny Race heats kick off just after 10am and will see eight teams power down the stretch of road in front of the Ettamogah Pub.
From the heats there will then be semi finals and of course the championship race at noon.
Nambour and Hinterland are yet to assemble a team as their coaching staff, led by Ben Stanely, contemplates the best selection criteria for the race.
“The boys are keen to be involved and I reckon we can come up with a pretty decent team to contest the title and hopefully come away with the win,” Stanley said.
“I’ve been involved before and it is a lot of fun and draws a big crowd which always adds to the experience of belting down the track pushing a dunny on wheels.”
The Caloundra Panthers are also eager to claim the title following their promotion to AFL Queensland Division Two competition.
“The boys are pumped for the 2013 season and winning this Dunny Race will really ignite the fire in the boys to put in a solid pre-season and continue through the season,” Senior President, Les Barret said.
This year every team entered in the Dunny Race will gain automatic entry into the tug-of-war which also turns a lot of heads and brings the competitive nature of individuals, business and other organisations to the surface.
With vintage cars on show, live music and loads of free kid’s activities in Aussie World, Australia Day celebrations at Ettamogah Pub will no doubt attract some serious attention across the weekend.
