A passion for the speedway

As president of the Morawa Speedway Club, she’s put her heart and soul into the club - even saving it from closing some years ago.

Morawa, a small farming town 370 kilometres from Perth, has one of the state’s best speedway track surfaces with spectators and competitors from all over Western Australia pouring into the town on weekends to experience car racing at its best.

It’s an accredited Grade One track which is permitted to run all classes of cars.

Morawa Speedway Club a place for the community

Shirley and her husband, Peter, have been described as the backbone of the speedway in the district. They race along with their 20-year-old son, Peter, who started as a 10-year-old junior. Shirley races a Ford Cortina production sedan while her husband and son both race a Ford Falcon production sedan – all often competing in the same division.

Supporting the club is a small dedicated group of volunteers who are focused on fostering an inclusive, safe and healthy environment for its participants, members and spectators.

Shirley says that she loves the atmosphere and adrenaline that comes from racing but also its social interaction side.

“You meet so many friendly people who are associated with the speedway. It’s good for the locals to get the outside community in.”

Morawa Speedway Club won a $1,000 prize for completing its Good Sports accreditation and is adopting smoking, safe transport and alcohol management plans to support the club’s family-friendly environment.

Shirley gave a big tick to Melissa Evans from the Good Sports team for helping the club out.

“Melissa acted quickly and provided all the information that we needed. We really appreciated her help.”

Good Sports program an excellent guide

Shirley believes that the Good Sports program is an excellent guide for ensuring that sporting clubs have everything in place, and nothing has been missed.

“Speedway clubs are the perfect place to foster healthy attitudes and behaviours towards alcohol. We have a lot of junior speedway participants coming through who are our future. Good Sports gets the word out there that we are doing the right thing.”