Going for gold: Sport Minister makes his pitch for a high performance centre in Cairns

Sport Minister Michael Healy has instructed his department to look into building a Queensland Academy of Sport in Cairns to make the city into a tropical Sporting Centre of Excellence.

Cairns can play a key role in the search to find Queensland’s next Cathy Freeman ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, Sport Minister Michael Healy says. Credit: Nick Wilson/Allsport

Sport Minister Michael Healy has instructed his department to look into building a Queensland Academy of Sport in Cairns to make the city into a tropical Sporting Centre of Excellence.

Mr said he had asked the department to explore the possibility of relocating some of the Academy’s assets from the state’s south-east corner to Cairns.

Barlow Park will be revamped as part of a $44m upgrade to the Cairns multi-sports venue’s facilities. Picture: Supplied

While a final figure has yet to be determined, it’s understood that a multi-million dollar high performance centre could be based near Barlow Park, close to the city’s CBD, and allow homegrown talent to hone their craft in the Far North.

“It would be a world-class elite training facility in the tropics and we could attract athletes from across the region, interstate and overseas,” Mr Healy said.

“I envisage something similar, but smaller on scale, to the QAS Centre on the Gold Coast.”

It's understood that the proposed Cairns high performance centre would reflect some aspects of master plan options for the Gold Coast Performance Centre in southeast Queensland. Picture: Supplied

The centre would be built in stages and include a performance gym, indoor courts, offices, live-in premium accommodation, and student dormitories with a nutrition kitchen, Mr Healy said.

“I believe we need a tropical QAS Sporting Centre of Excellence based in Cairns,” he said. “We know Cairns is already a destination of choice for elite athletes to train in the tropics. We’ve hosted plenty of Olympics training squads in our city.

Mareeba’s Aron Baynes rose to great heights to claim a bronze medal with the Australian Boomers in Tokyo. Picture: Mark Stewart

“We’re home to the Cairns Ironman, the Cairns Marathon, CrankWorx. The world’s best athletes, their families and supporters love coming here.

“But I believe we can become a breeding ground for our next generation of young sports stars growing up in regional Queensland, in particular young women.

“It’ll mean more gold medals for Australia as we look to unearth the next Cathy Freeman at the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games.”

A high performance centre would help homegrown athletes including Paralympian Grant ‘Scooter’ Patterson in his quest for Olympic gold. Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Mr Healy said he had raised the proposal with Premier Steven Miles who had given his “in-principle” support.

“I’d hope to make further announcement in coming months,” he said.

Cairns MP Michael Healy completes his swim leg in the inaugural CLAMS charity swim relay at Tobruk Memorial Pool, raising money for the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation earlier this year. Picture: Brendan Radke

Far North Queensland and regional Queensland more broadly is home to extraordinary sporting talent.

Our regions have produced some of Australia’s finest athletes including the likes of Natalie Cook, Anna Meares and Mark Knowles.

Australian Opals star Cayla George is proud to call Far North Queensland home. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

Cairns’ Matilda Mary Fowler has taken the world by storm, wowing fans across the globe with her skill and poise. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is aspiring to see Queensland athletes achieve its biggest medal haul at the Paris Olympics in July.

More than 500 of Queensland’s elite athletes are training in world-class facilities under the guidance of leading coaches and support teams currently.

Originally published as Going for gold: Sport Minister makes his pitch for a high performance centre in Cairns