About Tim Gavel
Sports commentator with ABC Grandstand for over 30 years Tim Gavel has called a range of sports including NRL, Super Rugby, Wallabies, Rowing World Cups, Rugby World Cups, Socceroos, Matildas, Opals, Boomers, WNBL, NBL, International Netball, Men's and Women's one day international cricket, Big Bash, World Volleyball League for Fox Sports, Rowing World Cup and National Championships for Fox Sports and the 2000 Paralympics.
All Articles
Sport
A few months ago Caroline Buchanan was hurtling down the mountain bike trail at Stromlo at 50 km/h when she crashed. She knocked herself out and woke up alongside a smashed helmet. She also found herself back at Canberra Hospital for a series of tests. They had plenty of records to use for comparison. Caroline had spent two-and-a-half years in...
Opinion
This has been the craziest season on record, eclipsing even the madhouse that was Super League in 1997, and that's saying something. Both the Super League and the COVID-impacted 2020 seasons were bizarre for different reasons. Super League was destructive and divisive, with the club’s players and supporters often at odds over the direction the Raiders opted to take as...
Opinion
Over the past 30 years or so there have been three perennial issues about Canberra which refuse to die. The top issue that has resonated for as long as I can remember is the cost of petrol in Canberra compared to almost anywhere else in Australia. Various explanations have been given for Canberra’s high comparative petrol price but none really...
Sport
Ack Weyman only missed two games of his son, Michael’s, rugby league career in Australia. This was a fair effort considering Michael was a schoolboy prodigy, captaining the Australian schoolboys before playing 141 NRL games for the Raiders and the Dragons. He also played in four Origins and a test for Australia. After a stint with Hull in the UK,...
Sport
In the wake of the 30-10 loss to the Melbourne Storm in the preliminary final, there was a certain amount of despair among Raiders fans. They came so close to another grand final appearance. Not that this season was a disappointment. Far from it. With an injury toll that had seven first graders on the sidelines for much of the...
Sport
Leading into last night’s Dally M awards, no Raiders player had won the top award for the NRL player of the season in 25 years. And it was widely speculated that the drought would continue with the Panthers’ Nathan Cleary the red-hot favourite. Heading into the final round there was a three-way contest for the award between Cleary, Clint Gutherson,...
Sport
Standing atop the podium at the Sydney Paralympics for the sixth time in the space of a week, 17-year-old Canberra student Siobhan Paton was beaming. Surely this was the start of an incredible ride. Siobhan was the queen of the Paralympic pool, winning a then-record six gold medals in events ranging from the 50 freestyle to the 200-metre individual medley,...
Sport
If you needed any further proof that the Raiders are as close-knit as any team we have witnessed in the NRL, look no further than today's media session leading into the Friday night preliminary final against Melbourne in Brisbane. The Raiders have been on the road for much of 2020 and are preparing for their 13th away game this year....
Opinion
Laurie Daley ran onto the field 244 times for the Raiders and there was always the expectation he would do something out of the ordinary. With the ball, Daley was constantly on the attack, while he was fearless in defence. As a commentator, I remember the sense of anticipation every time he took on the line. His ability to lift...
Sport
Such is her long list of sporting accomplishments, Heather McKay concedes that she had to go to a website the other day to remind herself of her achievements in tennis. The website heralds her considerable feats in four sports: squash, tennis, racquetball and hockey. But tennis is her passion these days, playing socially four times a week with the social...
Sport
In a game befitting the two top sides in Australian Super Rugby, the Brumbies withstood a spirited fightback from the Reds to secure the Super Rugby AU title at Canberra Stadium on Saturday (19 September). A superb performance from 20-year-old Noah Lolesio, including a 49th-minute drop goal, helped give the Brumbies the edge in front of a COVID-19 capacity crowd...
Sport
Having called all six Super Rugby finals involving the Brumbies, it may surprise you, but the most memorable wasn’t one in which the Canberra team won the title. In fact, it wasn’t even in Australia. In 2002 the Canterbury Crusaders had won all 12 games in the lead up to the final against the Brumbies at Jade Stadium in Christchurch....
Sport
In May 2014, it was announced that a young rising star from the Wests Tigers had signed a three-year deal with the Raiders. By June that player, James Tedesco, had back-flipped on the Canberra contract and opted to stay in Sydney. At the time, Tedesco hadn’t set rugby league alight but the Raiders had identified him as a marquee player....
Sport
Allan Hawke grew up in Queanbeyan over the road from the Raiders founders, the McIntyres. Allan’s brother, Phil, taught and coached Ricky Stuart and the Furners at St Edmund's College. The connections between the Raiders and Allan are strong. Allan is now Chairman of the Raiders, taking over from John McIntyre six years ago, following the sacking of David Furner...
Sport
In a perfect world, the Olympics would currently be underway in Tokyo. The Games are more than medals. It is about the story, the human effort and endeavour, and the impact it has on others. So over the next few weeks, at a time when the Olympics would have been taking place, I will be profiling Canberra-region athletes who inspired...
Opinion
Over the years in Canberra, I have coached and managed a wide range of sports from juniors to seniors. I'm sure many of you have done the same. When I have been coaching junior soccer and rugby with children aged from five to 10 years, my approach was based on the principle that I should be encouraging participation. Once I...