Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce reacts to city losing Qld Touch Football Junior State Cup

Hervey Bay’s chamber chief has spoken of the ‘huge economic’ to hundreds of businesses from Woodgate to Gympie as Qld Touch Football takes its multimillion junior cup to a new host city.

Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Holebrook.

Hervey Bay’s business chief has spoken out about the seaside city losing a multimillion-dollar sporting event, calling it one of the “biggest blows” the area has suffered.

Chamber of Commerce president Sandra Holebrook was involved in the last five-year renewal of the Queensland Touch Football Junior State Cup contract in the city and knows just how much money and positive publicity the event and its thousands of connected families bring in.

The state body announced on Wednesday the Cup would be hosted in Rockhampton in 2023, supported by the Rockhampton Regional Council.

The three-day competition has been held in Hervey Bay for the past 12 years.

“It would be one of the biggest blows we’ve probably suffered,” Ms Holebrook said.

The major youth sporting event brings thousands of visitors to the Fraser Coast, with accommodation often full from Woodgate through to Gympie.

“It does have a huge economic impact and businesses will notice that it’s not there anymore …” Ms Holebrook said.

Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce President Sandra Holebrook. Photo: Cody Fox.

As the competition has progress over the past decade, Ms Holebrook has seen families choosing to stay longer on the Fraser Coast and even come back to the region for holidays.

“Those ripples cannot be minimised, the effect of them is enormous on an economy and on the Fraser Coast way of life,” she said.

The Cup will also be held in Rockhampton in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031.

“It’s major that we have lost it,” Ms Holebrook said.

While it was hard to measure the extent of the economic loss, Ms Holebrook said it was in the millions.

“We’ve got Covid that’s hit everything and now we’re making it harder to keep business topped up with money,” she said.

Ms Holebrook said renewal of the competition in Hervey Bay had previously been a collaborative pitch to Queensland Touch Football between the council and other businesses but that had changed.

“I’m very much in favour of the work council does, but we seem to have become council centric,” she said.

The loss of the Cup is made more astounding by the fact that the region’s sporting facilities have finally developed to a high standard, with Ms Holebrook highlighting the new sporting precinct at Nikenbah – a project which was largely driven by events like it.

“It seems like those massive carnivals do put a catalyst for change in place and so when we lose them, that catalyst goes away,” she said.

Qld Touch Junior State Cup – U/12 Girls Hervey Bay v Caboolture. Abby Veale (Hervey Bay).

Queensland Touch Football said as the contact with the Fraser Coast council came to an end in 2022, the state body considered all options for the event’s future, including venue changes.

“We were approached by the Rockhampton Regional Council as well as other councils about the possibility of hosting the event, and we conducted discussions with them to determine the best location for the event,” Queensland Touch Football said.

“We worked closely with the Rockhampton Regional Council to finalise the agreement to ensure it was the best outcome for the event and our members.”

Where the Cup will be held in alternate years is yet to be decided.

When asked why Queensland Touch Football decided to host the event in another city, the state body said it was a “common practice” to look into other opportunities for events when contracts end.

Qld Touch Junior State Cup – U/10 Boys Hervey Bay v Rockhampton White. Albert Page (Hervey Bay).

“Although we have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Hervey Bay and appreciate the support and relationship with the Fraser Coast Regional Council, we felt it was time to consider other locations for the Junior State Cup after spending the past 12 years in Hervey Bay,” they said.

“The aim of continued development of the sport throughout Queensland was key to this process, and Rockhampton hosts a strong Touch Football community and sits central within the state which provides the opportunity to grow the sport and provide more opportunities in the Central to Northern regions of Queensland.

“Our decision to move to Rockhampton for the next few years does not mean the event will never return to Hervey Bay.”

Originally published as Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce reacts to city losing Qld Touch Football Junior State Cup