General News
24 January, 2025
Family affair in the canteen
AS race fans scramble to the top of Mount Max when gates open at Premier Speedway this afternoon, Kathy Billings and her family will already have spent several hours at the track.
The 2025 Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic marks number 20 for Kathy.
But she has seen very little of the on-track action over the last two decades, instead soaking up the atmosphere from inside the canteen.
Her involvement at Premier began when her four children were little.
While she was always busy as a stay at home mum she also yearned for adult interaction and the opportunity to do some voluntary work within the community.
“Initially, I was approached by a couple of ladies who were running the canteen at the time and they asked if I’d be interested in helping out,” Kathy said.
“I jumped at the chance. It was a great social outlet for me and over the years we’ve had some great times here. While we do work hard on race night we have a lot of laughs and some fun banter.”
The canteens at Premier Speedway have long since become a family affair for the Billings’.
Kathy’s husband Damien, daughters Jess and Georgia, son Joseph and “soon-to-be son-in-law” Braydon Turner also help out in the canteens and wherever else needed.
“When Jess was about 10 she started helping her uncle out in his food van here (at Premier) while I was in the canteen but it wasn’t long before she joined me.
“It’s great to have everyone here together on race night,” Kathy said.
“And the three nights of the Classic are amazing; the crowds are huge and the atmosphere is something else.”
Kathy’s mum, Margaret Couch, is also a great supporter of Premier and enjoys her motorsport.
Turning 83 in March, Margaret very rarely misses a race meeting – and definitely not the Classic – and enjoys watching all the action with friends in the terrace.
With thousands of race enthusiasts flocking to Premier for the three-day Classic, Kathy’s shopping list expands “threefold.”
Keeping visitors well fed and hydrated is high on the agenda.
“The amount of food we go through is pretty incredible,” Kathy said.
Each night of the Classic, Kathy and her band of workers expect to sell around 1200 pies, 660 pastie rolls and 720 sausage rolls.
And it’s not a visit to Premier on race night without sampling one of their famous hot cinnamon donuts.
“The donuts are always popular,” Kathy said.
Every 15 to 20 minutes throughout the night Joseph and Braydon are cooking up a new batch.
“We go through close to 1,000 bags of donuts (with three in each bag) for each night of the Classic. That’s a huge job in itself.”
And when it comes to drinks, more than 300 bottles of flavoured milk are sold each night.
“The canteen is constantly busy but we’re really lucky to have some terrific volunteers who really work hard.
“In the past several local sporting clubs have received donations in recognition of their help not only in the canteen but with picking up rubbish after each race night or helping with car parking.
“This three-day event is absolutely huge and we all love it. We’re exhausted by the end of night three but we’ll always come back.”
