A sporting future for the Broadwater

by Jeni Bone on 20 Aug 2016 More than 70 industry, community and business leaders, stakeholders and media met at the start of August at Southport Yacht Club on Queensland’s Gold Coast to discuss the topic “Unlocking the potential of the Broadwater through Sport”. Hosted by Sports Gold Coast, the non-profit organisation funded by its local business members to foster and grow pathways through all sports from grass roots to elite level, the invitation-only event aimed to encourage inclusion for the entire community on the Broadwater.

Considered the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Gold Coast’s natural assets, the Broadwater is the region’s main recreational boating destination, stretching from Southport in the south, to the southern section of the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Moreton Bay in the north.

Since construction of the Seaway in 1983, the Broadwater has become the epicentre of aquatic activities for visitors and locals alike. The waterway is used by boaties, anglers, commercial operators and enjoys considerable patronage on its shoreline, particularly with the recent development of the Broadwater Parklands with swimming, playground and other community facilities.

With all these facets of usage, there is additional high demand for an area dedicated to aquatic recreational, separate and a safe distance from the main navigational channel.

“Unlike other sports in the region, sailing, waterskiing, standup paddling, diving and wakeboarding, among other watersports, do not have a suitable dedicated stadium,” explains Brett Richardson, CEO at Sports Gold Coast. “These sports cannot occur at sea. We are working with Council and government agencies to address this and laying the groundwork for a suitable area at the southern end of the Broadwater.”

According to Brett James, general manager at Southport Yacht Club, in 2015 alone more than $20 million in international events were unable to be hosted on the Broadwater due to lack of suitable space with sufficient water depth.

“Australian Sailing provided these estimates and is fully supportive of the initiative to create an arena in the southern Broadwater,” James said. “Such an arena would allow the Gold Coast to host major sailing events including America’s Cup, Extreme Sailing Series, World Match Racing Tour and the World Sailing Championships which sees 100 nations and upwards of 1,600 sailors participating.”

At a community level, an arena would encourage expanding participation in sailing through Australian Sailing’s introductory program, Tackers, the program for disabled participants known as Sailability, and other sailing programs for local community, schools, tourists and international visitors by providing easy and safe access to a high quality sailing arena.

According to Australian Sailing, the 2015 National Sailing Participation Census showed that currently there are 9,093 participants in sailing on the Gold Coast (26,400 in Queensland and 239,323 nationally). These participants partake in all forms of sailing including competitive, recreational, social, events and programs such as learn to sail courses.

Matt Carroll AM Chief Executive Officer of Australian Sailing stated “With the creation of a dedicated arena, sailing activities and participants would increase dramatically, by as much as 25 percent, thereby providing real opportunity for the local economy. Clubs and local sailing schools would be able to develop their businesses providing the community with recreational services and generating employment.”

The main speaker at the SYC event was Iain Murray in his capacity as Regatta Director for the America’s Cup. He spoke of the current format of the America’s Cup World Series which travels the world showcasing the sport which involves the world’s best sailors, many of them Australian, such as ORACLE Team USA skipper, Jimmy Spithill and the Gold Coast’s own Ky Hurst, champion Iron Man and Olympian.

“The benefits the America’s Cup World Series brings to a host venue are extraordinary,” Murray explained. “It’s a phenomenal spectator sport these days with the foiling AC50s that come right up to the shoreline and travel faster than windspeed, and the festival that surround the event brings revenue from sponsorship, employment and tourism. The broadcast coverage reaches close to one billion viewers worldwide, not to mention the bonus of online and social media.”

Solo sailor, Jessica Watson was beamed in from Sydney to tell of her experiences, learning to sail on the Broadwater at Hollywell, which conducts junior sailing around passing boat traffic. “A dedicated sailing arena would be wonderful for community sailing, not just competitive, but social sailing for all ages,” she said.

“Sailing is fantastic for meeting people and enjoying sailing for pure pleasure. It’s a healthy, outdoor pastime and great for getting kids off the devices for fun and to learn new skills.”

The City of Gold Coast has received a letter of intent from the America’s Cup Even Authority to commit to secure the Gold Coast as a long-term venue post the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Brett Richardson stated that the SYC event was the first step to bringing the America’s Cup World Series, and many other lucrative events across all sports at all levels to the Gold Coast.

“It was a great turn out by local and national stakeholders to discuss the potential for community and elite sporting activity in the Broadwater. It was the opportunity for people at all levels to connect, and very encouraging to see agreement on making the Broadwater a world-class watersport venue.

“We are currently taking expressions of interest from all watersports and the boating and sailing community to join the Sub-committee to coordinate an approach, to not only host the biggest sailing event in the world, the America’s Cup, but how this integrates with community sport.”

According to Richardson, the AC on the GC bid has three key areas: dredging, the environment and the Event which will be examined in liaison with Council, government and community.

“I am pleased to announce that Howard Glenn, CEO of the Boating Industry Association will be joining the Bid Team,” he added. “Howard provides a wealth of experience on the challenges we face in the Broadwater.”

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