Queensland Schools Championship Regatta attracts 700 rowers to Rockhampton

“All systems go”: 700 rowers from across Queensland converge on Rockhampton for huge school competition. Full details here.

Close to 700 rowers will compete in the 2021 Higgings Coatings Queensland Schools Championship Regatta on the Fitzroy River this weekend.

Almost 700 rowers will be in action this weekend as Rockhampton hosts the 2021 Higgins Coatings Queensland Schools Championship Regatta.

The action starts at 7am on Saturday and will continue through to Monday afternoon.

Thirty-seven secondary schools from Townsville through to the Gold Coast and centres in between will be represented.

Rockhampton Grammar, The Cathedral College, Emmaus College and Rockhampton Girls Grammar are among them.

Rockhampton Fitzroy Rowing Club president Sarah Black said it was “all systems go” for the event, which is expected to attract thousands of spectators.

The 2020 regatta, which was to be in Rockhampton, was cancelled due to Covid.

The pandemic has impacted this year’s event as well, with interstate and international rowers (most of them from New Zealand) unable to attend because of travel restrictions and border closures.

Black is thrilled the 2021 regatta will go ahead and said there promised to be some fantastic racing.

It also presented a great opportunity for the state’s best young rowers to compete on the same course the Australian rowing team used to prepare for this year’s Tokyo Olympics.

The Fitzroy River is one of five fully buoyed courses in Queensland, and the only one fully owned and managed by the local council.

“It is rare to have a 2km stretch of flat water to compete on,” Black said.

Rockhampton Grammar will be among the four local schools competing at this weekend’s regatta.

“Rockhampton is a venue of choice because everything is so close – it’s just five minutes to the airport and five minutes to the CBD and accommodation.

“People love coming here. They love what we have to offer, and not only from a rowing perspective.

“A lot of families come here for the event and start their school holidays up here.”

Capricorn Enterprise CEO Mary Carroll said sporting events injected significant funds into the local economy thanks to competitors, their families and supporters.

“As a former schoolgirl rower on the Fitzroy, I can attest to the quality rowing course in Rockhampton which is why it continues to attract school championships as well as Commonwealth and Olympic pre-training,” she said.

“Rockhampton’s accommodation over the weekends is historically lower than weeknights, so the economic boost that this rowing carnival brings to our city is appreciated.

“Accommodation bookings in Rockhampton and our greater CQ region continue to be strong with not just holiday and business visitors, but also sporting events and school camps.

“Many schools are choosing our destination for their sporting and school events more than usual as we are considered a much safer option than the highly populated south-east corner.

“Forward bookings for the September/October school holidays are extremely strong right across our region.”