Fraser Coast mayor on Junior State Cup cancellation

The Fraser Coast mayor has spoken about the devastating decision of touch football chiefs to cancel a major competition which brings tens of thousands to the local economy.

The Fraser Coast’s mayor says the council was prepared to cop “significant damage” to its sporting fields if the Junior State Cup had gone ahead.

It comes after the major touch football competition, which brings thousands of junior players and their families to the Fraser Coast, was cancelled at the last minute.

Speaking to reporters during a funding announcement for the Hervey Bay Aquatic Centre on Wednesday Mr Seymour also spoke to reporters at the centre about tournament, he said the decision to can the competition late Tuesday was not a council decision.

Instead, he said the council was “happy for it to go ahead”.

“Like everyone, we’re very frustrated about the cancellation,” Mr Seymour said.

“Queensland Touch Football have made this decision to cancel and we respect it, they made the decision based upon the safety of their players, the safety of the children which comes as a priority.”

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour at the announcement for the $3.5m redevelopment of the Hervey Bay Aquatic Centre.

When asked how the cancellation would impact the economy, Mr Seymour said if people were still coming to the Fraser Coast this weekend, he encouraged them to enjoy the many tourist experiences the Coast had to offer, highlighting whale watching and beaches.

The Chronicle understands however that dozens of accommodation providers are scrambling to re-book now vacant rooms and small businesses from restaurants to marquee suppliers and sports masseurs have missed out on what would have been a lucrative week of trade.

The cup was due to kick off on Thursday and continue until Saturday and would have taken place for the first time at the Fraser Coast Sports and Recreation Precinct instead of the Tavistock St fields.

In cruel irony, relentless rain has given way to blue skies but the cup organisers insist the grounds would still have been too dangerous.

In a statement, Queensland Touch Football said it was with ‘great disappointment’ that the tournament was cancelled.

“Unpreceded rainfall across Fraser Coast in the past few days has substantially impacted the playing fields and venue,” the statement read

Queensland Touch Football's Junior State Cup brings big bucks to the Fraser Coast’s economy.

“After several assessments of the venue by Fraser Coast Regional Council (FCRC) and Queensland Touch Football (QTF), player and spectator safety both on the field and surrounds, could not be guaranteed and therefore the decision to cancel has been made.”

233 teams were expected to participate in the event across 22 fields.

According to the statement, 10-12 fields were unplayable and more were expected to become hazardous.

“Unfortunately, despite the forecast looking more favourable in the days ahead, this is an insufficient number of fields for matches to be played, even with the significant rescheduling of draws, game times and shortened event timelines.

“We appreciate that many affiliates, participants, and referees have been left out of pocket, as have QTF with substantial costs already spent and unrecoverable. QTF is currently working through options with respect to the event and will provide further information to affiliates and participants once decisions are finalised in the next week.”