Sprint champ Melanie Woods petitions for synthetic athletics track in Rockhampton

A Commonwealth Games medallist is driving the campaign for a proper athletics track in Rockhampton, saying it will bring millions to the region and save parents thousands in travel costs to big meets.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Melanie Woods is campaigning for a synthetic athletics track to be built in Rockhampton.

A Commonwealth Games bronze medallist is driving the campaign for a synthetic athletics track to be built in Rockhampton.

Melanie Woods (nee Kleeberg) has started a petition, which has more than 700 signatures.

She said the race was on to have the facility built if Rockhampton was to have any chance of cashing in on the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane as visiting teams looked to base themselves in regional centres in the countdown to the international event.

Woods said Rockhampton was the largest city in Australia that did not have an all-weather tartan track.

She said the lack of the facility was not only detrimental to aspiring athletes but also the region, which was missing out on millions of dollars in revenue because it was unable to host major athletics meetings.

Melanie Woods in the 200m heats at the Australian athletics championships.

A talented sprinter, Melanie trained and competed at the elite level and said she was “amazed” to find Rockhampton did not have a synthetic track when she relocated here more than two years ago.

Melanie started in athletics in Germany when she was eight and continued to pursue the sport when she came to Australia at age 15.

She represented her adopted home country at a junior world championships, two world championships, two World Cups and two Commonwealth Games, and was a two-time 200m national champion.

She won bronze in the 4x100m relay at the 2006 Commonwealth Games alongside Sally McLellan, Lauren Hewitt and Crystal Attenborough.

Australian women’s 4x100m team (from left) Crystal Attenborough, Sally McLellan, Melanie Woods and Lauren Hewitt after winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games in 2006.

Woods said she started the petition after hearing talk of the Rockhampton Sports Precinct being developed by the regional council in partnership with CQUniversity.

Athletics facilities are included in the precinct master plan released earlier this month.

It identifies there is a “current need for an athletics track” but under the component delivery plan indicates it “may be grass initially”.

Melanie said the sports precinct was an exciting development but it was “disappointing” that a synthetic track was not the initial focus.

“We’ve got some great grass tracks already so that won’t make a difference for us,” she said.

“In terms of athletics, that won’t elevate things for the sport here.

“How can we have a first-class sports precinct without a synthetic running track?”

The cost of competing

Woods said Central Queensland athletes were being priced out of the sport because they had to always travel away for competitions.

Her own daughter Lily, who is a member of the North Rockhampton and Keppel Coast athletics clubs, is one of the most promising juniors on the local scene.

Lily Woods, one of Rockhampton’s champion young athletes, regularly travels to competitions in Brisbane and Mackay. Picture: Jo Harlow Photography

She started competing when the family lived in Mackay, a centre which reaps the rewards of having a synthetic track, regularly hosting events such as state championships and last year the Oceania Area Championships.

“Last year, we would have spent between $20,000 and $30,000 on travel and accommodation,” Woods said.

“Every time we go away in a team, we have to pay a levy for coaches and administrators to travel as well which is $300 on top of the other expenses.”

Woods said unless they were prepared to travel to Brisbane or Mackay, our athletes did not get to compete before events such as state or national championships for which they were selected.

“Our athletes are definitely disadvantaged, so it’s amazing they’ve accomplished what they have,” she said.

Opportunities missed

Woods said the region was also missing out financially.

She said a synthetic track would cost about $2.5m, money she believes would quickly be recouped with the staging of major meetings.

Rockhampton had long been promoted as the sporting capital of Central Queensland and it was perfectly positioned geographically for athletes north and south.

“Our athletes recently competed at the North Queensland Championships in Mackay and those few days brought $2.5m of tourism money into the coffers,” Woods said.

Racing at the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships in Mackay. Picture: Max O'Driscoll

“That in itself is a huge event and it’s things like that Rockhampton simply can’t have because it doesn’t have the facilities.”

Woods said Rockhampton would be perfectly placed as a staging camp destination in the lead up to the 2023 Olympics in Brisbane.

“Teams come in weeks and months ahead to start acclimatising and training,” she said.

“There will not be enough capacity to accommodate them all in Brisbane so it would be a great chance to have them coming to our region.

“We are so close to Brisbane, just a one-hour flight away, so we’re perfectly placed.

“The Gold Coast mayor is also trying to get the 2026 Commonwealth Games there and that would be another opportunity for us.”

Woods said timing was “crucial” for the delivery of the facilities and for the region’s young athletes who had their sights on the 2032 Olympics.

Benefits beyond athletics

Woods said the benefit of a synthetic track went well beyond athletics.

“It would provide training options for other sports such as football, rugby and hockey whose players all work on speed and fitness,” she said.

Melanie Woods says the tartan track would be used by the broader community as well.

“Tartan tracks are also more accessible for athletes in wheelchairs who cannot access grass tracks.”

Woods said it would also be an asset for recreational athletes and as a venue for community events, such as the annual Relay for Life.

Rockhampton Regional Council’s position

Mayor Tony Williams said he was “certainly aware” of the call for a tartan track in Rockhampton.

“This has been a long-running issue and why I am particularly pleased to see an athletics precinct included in the Rockhampton Sports Precinct master plan,” he said.

Councillor Cherie Rutherford, Rockhampton Region Mayor Tony Williams, Rockhampton Netball president Simone Hitchcock and CQUniversity professor Grant Stanley. Picture: Aden Stokes

“What we have developed so far is a concept for the site and are now in the process of working through conversations with sports clubs and association as well as the broader community.

“I want to see a tartan track in our region and this needs to be part of the conversation around future staging for the precinct.

“Council will continue to work with the local and state level sporting bodies as we go through the process and will have more to say on future stages of the precinct in the future.”