Southport Sharks is a leading entertainment, sports and leisure precinct. Featuring two restaurants, a café, six bars, kids’ club, gaming facilities and free entertainment, it is the most happening venue on the north end of the Coast. And, they have some amazing new deals that you need to know about!
Here’s the scoop for our readers – in 2021 membership is only $5. Plus joining as a member comes with heaps of benefits including $20 of food and drink credit on the month of your birthday. You’ll have plenty of time to use up those credits – Southport Sharks is open every day of the week, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
EATING AND DRINKING: SOUTHPORT SHARKS
Let’s start with everyone’s favourite subject. Food! Here, seniors are in luck. Southport Sharks have a seniors’ discount if you are a member. Simply present your Sharks membership card and seniors’ card to get $2 off the dining menu, seven days a week.
Frenzy’s Restaurant is a favourite of Gold Coasters. Both members and guests can eat here. Between 11.30am and 2.00pm you can enjoy a delicious lunch from just $13. Our pick is the beer[1]battered flat head fish and chips. You can also order something from the premium range starting at $16 which includes Roast of the Day with roast potato, pumpkin, greens and rich pan gravy.
Dinner at Carmodys
More Food
If you are an early riser, then check this out. Breakfast menu delights include the Brekky Burrito – toasted tortilla with scrambled egg, baby spinach, Mexican cheddar, chipotle, chorizo, guacamole and tomato salsa Yum! They also serve traditional breakfasts too.
There is an à la carte menu available for lunch or dinner which includes crowd favourites such as chicken schnitzel and roast of the day, along with newcomers like creamy chicken and chorizo linguini. This dish is crafted with Portuguese style chicken breast, chorizo, semi-dried tomatoes, baby spinach, caramelised leek, egg pasta and shaved pecorino.
Carmody’s Bar and Restaurant is an award[1]winning, stylish restaurant offering modern Australian Cuisine. It is open for lunch on Friday from 12pm-2pm, and dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings from 5.30pm. It is THE place to end your week in style. You will adore the exemplary service and the exceptional dining experience. After your meal, you can stay longer to enjoy the elegance and sophistication of Carmody’s Bar. Make sure you sample the selection of premium spirits, fine wines and delicious cocktails.
You can book online for Carmody’s or Frenzy’s via OpenTable.com.au or call 07 5532 1155.
FITNESS CENTRE: SOUTHPORT SHARKS
Southport Sharks’ super-modern Health and Fitness Centre has a wide selection of Les Mills classes, and a team of experienced personal trainers. From cycling to yoga, this is where you can go to hit your workout goals.
Fitness center at Southport Sharks
Entry of the Southport Sharks
STAY A WHILE
If you don’t want the great night to end, you can stay at the on-site hotel. Mantra at Sharks has 120 rooms so the good times can roll on. At the top of the hotel sits the stunning Aviary Rooftop Bar. The hotel also has light-filled meeting spaces ideal for gatherings or conferences. To book, call 07 5603 3200.
PARKING
There are over 500 free car parks for Southport Sharks members and guests. Nice! We will see you there. ■
SOUTHPORT SHARKS
Corner of Olsen Avenue and Musgrave Avenue, Southport
Welcome to the whole bag of crazy that is the Shitbox Rally. It’s a super-fun way to raise money for charity. This year, the event finishes up at the Gold Coast. And then, it starts from the Gold Coast again just a few days later!
Cars participating in the Shitbox Rally
This is not a race. It is a challenge to drive cars worth just less than $1,000 across Australia via some of the Outback’s most formidable roads. This is all in the name of raising money for cancer research.
Sea of Cars Participating in the Shitbox Rally
The founder of the Shitbox Rally, James Freeman, started the event after losing both his parents to cancer within 12 months of each other. His amazing idea has now turned into a wildly expanding spectacle. Says Freeman, “In every rally, we drive to – and through – the Outback. But for Shitbox Rally Autumn 2021 we are starting there! This unusual route has us starting in the centre of Australia, travelling North initially to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria before heading South East for the long drive to the Gold Coast.
Cars participating in the Shitbox Rally
Fifty per cent of the route is unsealed with plenty of river crossings to keep the teams challenged. Even the sealed road sections will be interesting and incredibly varied – from the red earth of Central Australia, to the Devil’s Marbles, to National Parks and to the mountainous terrain of the Great Dividing Range. There are plenty of challenges, plenty to see, and a huge amount to experience in just under 4,000 kilometres and seven days.”
SHITBOX RALLY
The route in 2021 will cover over 3962 kilometres. In both the out and back legs, there will be 250 teams of 2, driving their wildly-decorated shitboxes. There will also be around 50 support personnel, who each pay their own way to make the rally a reality. All will traverse some of Australia’s dustiest, most iconic outback roads for seven days of fun, dust, and sweat. They will also be dressing up in some outrageous costumes – not just at night, but all day! Participants spend the entire day in costume. That’s breakfast, driving, repairing, and, if there’s a pub at the end, they are in costume for that as well!
Area where Shitbox Rally starts
This event is officially endorsed and supported by Cancer Council. Fundraising records continue to be broken year after year by the rally, with more than $20 million donated to Cancer Council since the event began in 2009.
NOT FOR EVERYONE
Interesting in applying? If you don’t like to get your hands dirty, or spend any time away from civilisation, this rally is not for you. This is a challenge for those who want to get their teeth into something meaningful and crave something different. Remember, you could be in the middle of Australia, miles from anywhere, trying to fix a split radiator hose with duct tape, string and pliers. You will be dirty, dusty, and maybe muddy…but you’ll still have a smile on your face, and you won’t be alone. There will be no motels, few showers, and you’ll be camping at every night. So you’ll need to bring plenty of wet wipes as well as your own tent, sleeping bag and mattress or swag. It’s an adventure in the true sense of the word.
Trouble in Paradise
Each team is made up of a car with two drivers. Back seats are kept clear so they can carry passengers when other shitboxes don’t manage the entire journey. That said though, the support crews will do absolutely everything within their power to get as many cars as possible to the finish line. The cars are an asset, donated by all the teams, and sold at a public auction the day after the rally ends.
END GOAL FOR SHITBOX RALLY
The Shitbox Rally is not a race; however awards are given at the end of the rally. There are awards decided in the early stages – such as the coveted “least likely to finish” trophy.
Vibrant and youthful participants
There’s an award given for the team (or individual) who is deemed to have gone the furthest above and beyond what would normally be expected the “Spirit of the Rally.” And there are awards for the highest fundraisers. For more information Jump onto shitboxrally.com.au. While you’re there, check out some amazing videos of past rallies. If you’re into social media, you can follow the action on Facebook and Instagram with the tag @shitboxrally. ■
EXERCISE BUFFS have long used protein supplements to gain muscle. But new research from McMaster University suggests one protein source, in particular, whey protein, is different. It is the Ideal Protein To Help Seniors struggling to rebuild muscle lost from inactivity associated with illness or long hospital stays.
The study, published online in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compared the impact of different forms of protein supplements on older adults. They are a growing population challenged by the loss of muscle and strength or sarcopenia. Sarcopenia can affect balance, gait, and the ability to perform the simple tasks of everyday life. Researchers found that protein did not stop lean muscle loss caused by inactivity, however, whey supplements helped to rebuild muscle once the participants’ activities resumed.
Says Stuart Phillips, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster, “The important message here is that not all proteins are created equal. Whey is one of the highest quality proteins and is ideal for older persons.”
For the study, researchers recruited men and women who were non-smokers, non-diabetic and between the ages of 65 and 80 years old. One group of subjects consumed whey protein, the other collagen peptides, throughout the study.
Whey is considered a high-quality or complete protein, meaning it is rich in all essential amino acids and is higher in leucine. Leucine is one of the essential amino acids the body cannot make itself and therefore, must be derived from food. Collagen peptides, by comparison, are much lower in their leucine content, lack or are low in essential amino acids.
For a five-week period, their diet was controlled, including a two-week time frame where their daily steps were restricted to 750 per day and their calorie intake reduced by 500 calories per day, conditions that might mimic what older people often experience during a hospital stay. Participants returned to normal activity levels during a one-week recovery period. The team had predicted that the collagen peptide the group would experience a significantly greater muscle loss than the whey protein group, but that didn’t happen. Both groups lost the same amount of muscle.
Says Sara Oikawa of the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster, “While we already know that complete protein sources are more potent for stimulating building processes we were surprised to discover that after two weeks of limiting steps among the participants, there were no apparent differences in muscle loss between the two groups.”
While protein was ineffective in mitigating muscle loss, say researchers when participants returned to normal, muscle-building activity, the whey group recovered more skeletal muscle. “When we consider measures that can be taken to help seniors as they age, it’s clear that whey is an important ingredient. Conversely, we should avoid collagen in formulations targeting older people,” says Oikawa.
In future research, Oikawa plans to focus on women specifically, who tend to experience greater difficulties in rebuilding strength. Whey protein is just another thing we can thank cows for. Thanks, Daisy!
Want to know more about exercise tips for senior citizens, click here
