Ownership of Myrtleford's sporting supply, shoe and toy store 'SportF1rst' officially transferred from Paul and Wendy Maskell to Julie and Matt Sinnett, last Wednesday, 3 December, carrying on the local business which has been running for 53 years.

The Maskells, who were the owners for over 15 years, said they are handing the baton and the keys over to the younger generation.

"Having this business has been great for our family," Wendy said.

"We've been here in this shop for 15 and a half years and 31 years in business altogether; we used to run the Golden Leaf Motel here in town.

"We really love Myrtleford and after the Golden Leaf, we wanted to stay in town, so it was a good opportunity to stay local and serve the community."

Wendy said they wished to thank all who have supported them over the years and for the public to channel that support towards the new owners.

"We want them to do well, as well as enjoy it," she said.

"It's a big thing to take on, so we hope they succeed as another local family business, well into the future."

New owners, Julie and Matt Sinnett, along with their son Josh, are no strangers to running a business in town.

"We used to run the Round About Op Shop for a few years," Julie said.

"I'm a teacher, but I'll keep teaching and divide my time between school and our new store.

"Our son Josh is set to be the front-of-house person."

Matt said one of the changes they would make is to stock a wider range of outdoor and hobby-based gear at SportF1rst.

"We're planning to introduce more hunting apparel, such as 'Hunters' Element' and 'Dissolve' and more archery-related stock," he said.

"There is a huge hunting community in the area, [clearing] deer and other game species.

"We are also looking to add some fly fishing equipment, as fishing is a passion of mine.

"Ahead of the festive season, we have more toys and other stock available for our customers."

Matt said their recent purchase was a benefit for other local businesses and will continue to help foot-traffic flow through town, as there would not be a closed-down shop sitting idle in the town centre.

Myrtleford Real Estate and Livestock director and principal agent, Ben McIntyre, (whose parents bought his first push-bike and an endless number of shoes at the store over the years), said the sale is great for not only the Myrtleford community, but also the Alpine valley.

"I've spoken to sports organisations from here to Mount Beauty who source their equipment from this store," Mr McIntyre said.

"There's also been a long-established relationship with the local Whorouly and Myrtleford football and netball clubs for decades.

"It's great local people like Matt and Julie are taking it on; customers are still able to support local business owners in the lead up to Christmas."

Myrtleford Sports and Outdoor 'SportF1rst' is located at 69 Clyde Street.