At Links Hope Island we offer a range of packages to suit your corporate and event needs with benefits guaranteed to please. For more information phone 07 5530 9000 or email: golfmail@linkshopeisland.com.au Tattler Summer 2015 31 LINKS HOPE ISLAND AD Past Club President and radio personality John McCoy was the original facilitator of the Sportsman’s Grill Nights during the late 1990s and into the 21st century. Now hanging up his Sportsman’s Grill hat, Tattersall’s Club will honour him with the ‘A Tribute to John McCoy’ night on Tuesday 17 November. In the lead up to his final hurrah he provides some insights into his most memorable moments. How did you become involved with the Sportsman’s Grill Nights? I was approached by the Committee and Graeme Fry, who was President at the time regarding a new event format they wanted to add to the Club event calendar. I suppose given my background as a sports commentator I was the obvious choice. They put forward the idea of getting a different sporting identity into the Club as a guest for a dinner each month and asked if I would do the interviews, which I agreed. How long have you been the interviewer of the Sportsman’s Grill Nights? I have been interviewing for 15 years. Why did you decide to stop interviewing? I initially decided to stand down when my turn of President was up. At that point they asked if I would stay on as speaker and I said I would. I did it for a year or so after, but decided it would probably be better if someone else did it. My occupation is breakfast radio, so I have to be at work by three o’clock every morning. I had been doing that for years and when I became President it was very difficult. I had so many functions at night and then had to be up early in the morning. It was very tiring. Plus I had been doing it for so long I thought it would be good to get a change of face. Patty Walsh and Peter Psaltis do quite a few now. Who was your first interview with? The very first interview I did was with Charlie Earp a golf coach, known for coaching Greg Norman. He coached Greg for eight years, but remained a trusted advisor well after their working relationship ended. It was an excellent night and from that point it really took off and became a runaway success. Who have been some of your highlights? There have been so many over the years it is hard to pick just a few. Sporting greats include Wayne Bennett who was a repeat offender and a guest on two occasions. Laura Geitz was our first female sporting guest and she was phenomenal. George Gregan (another repeat guest), Wally Lewis, Kieren Perkins, John Eales, Bart Cummings and Damian Oliver were all exceptional. I think we really covered all of sport, including: Rugby League, Rugby Union, AFL, Soccer, Netball, Motor Racing, Athletics, Cricket and Tennis. One of my personal favourite interviews was with World Motorcycle champion Mick Doohan. From his numerous race falls, he was lucky to be alive and gave the medical profession some great challenges. His worst fall resulted in a leg injury so bad that an amputation was almost certainly needed. There was only one doctor in the USA who specialised in such worst case trauma injuries and Mick, as a last resort, got an appointment with him. His name is Dr Kevin Louie from San Francisco. Kevin saved Mick’s leg although he will always have a bad limp as a result of the accident. Mick and Kevin became great personal friends and at the time of our Sportsman’s Grill interview Kevin was staying with Mick at his Gold Coast home and came along as Mick’s guest on the night. It was fascinating listening to Kevin tell the incredible stories associated with caring for Mick. The guests on the night could not believe what they were hearing. Some of the highlights have actually not been in the sporting arena. John Howard was one of my favourite interviews. Alexander Downer, who talked about his time as Foreign Minister and the dignitaries he met was phenomenal and Sir Peter Cosgrove, who is now the Governor General, was a fantastic character. One night that all of the Members said was one of the best was an interview panel with Pat Welsh, the late David Fordham and Jerry Collins. All are sporting commentators who I had worked with. Some of the stories that were told from behind the scenes were things people had never heard before and Members thoroughly enjoyed that. What do you think the secret is to the success of the Sportsman’s Grill Nights? For me I think the secret is really the relationships I have with the guest speakers. Nine times out of 10 I would know the guests personally and that really showed in the interviews. I knew them and they knew me and we had already built a rapport, enabling them to trust me, open up and say things they may not normally say. We also had a rule that what was said on Sportsman’s Grill Nights stayed in house. Having these relationships really enabled Members to gain a more intimate insight into the lives of the guest speakers. In the case of Wally Lewis, who I am a close personal friend of, we were able to speak about his struggles with epilepsy, which had not been made very public. The late Bart Cummings is a naturally shy individual and having already known his style, I was able to get more out of him then someone who did not have that relationship with him. The success of the Sportsman’s Grills was greatly envied by many of our competitor Clubs in Brisbane, who tried to replicate it, but could never quite match our success. What does the future hold for Sportsman’s Grill Nights? Look, I think it is difficult these days. Back then a lot of the guest speakers I was friends with and could call in for a favour, so there would be no or minimal cost. Today it is a very different story and when you are paying exuberant fees the longevity of the event can be called into question. I think they will still continue, but not monthly as they originally did. I hope they do continue as they are fantastic events and very much so at the core of Tattersall’s. OPEN FOR BUSINESS AT LINKS HOPE ISLAND P: 07 5530 9000 F: 07 5530 9019 E: golfmail@linkshopeisland.com.au W: www.linkshopeisland.com.au ENQUIRE NOW MEMbErsHIP I GoLF DAys I ConFErEnCEs & EvEnts
Tattler Summer 2015
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