Friday, 17 November, 2023
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Vinnies’ golden winner
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28-page liftout Property Guide
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INSIDE
PR OP ER TY
Amazing success Amaze World has been crowned 2023 Sunshine Coast Business Awards Business of the Year, also taking out the Experiences Large category for the second year in a row. The attraction headlined 38 winners in this year’s awards, announced at the Sunshine Coast business community’s annual night of night, the Sunshine Coast Business Awards Gala. Sunshine Coast Business Awards chair Jennifer Swaine said the celebration this year was something special, with 900 members of the business community, including finalists and sponsors, gathering to celebrate another year, with comedian, actor and entertainer Shane Jacobson returning as MC. Continued page 4
2023 Sunshine Coast Business Awards Business of the Year - Amaze World.
Olympic dreams By Phil Jarratt
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The exciting format of beach sprint rowing, part of the Coastal Rowing discipline, will make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles Games in 2028, paving the way for Noosa to emerge as the frontrunner to host the event at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. Following the International Olympic Committee’s announcement last month, an excited Sarah Cook, chief executive officer of Rowing Australia, emailed her delight to rowing officials around Australia, noting that, “Collectively we have been working together to … build this discipline in Australia … and Rowing Australia is well positioned to continue … the
growth and development nationally.” But if anyone could match Ms Cook’s excitement over this hard-won Olympic inclusion, it would have been Peter Watson, secretary of Coastal Rowing Noosa, one of just two official coastal rowing clubs in Australia, and an acknowledged leader in promoting the fast-growing discipline, with a successful 2022 hosting of the Australian championships. Peter told Noosa Today: “What’s going to be required to get Noosa up as the venue in 2032 is a good marketing campaign from Rowing Australia, Rowing Qld and from Noosa itself. I think if we combine we can present a compelling campaign, and time is on our side. We have nine years to keep building our sport.”
As the IOC noted in its October announcement: “The inclusion of Beach Sprint Rowing in the 2028 Olympic Games programme is the outcome of a decade-long development of Coastal Rowing with the active support of our 159 members and rowing communities across the world. World Rowing has embarked on an ambitious, global growth strategy for the discipline, underpinned by increased investments across geographies and participation in highprofile multisport events. “In 2023, Beach Sprint Rowing was featured at the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals in Barletta, Italy, after being part of the Mediterranean Beach Games in Greece. “The format will also be part of the 2026
Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal and the 2026 Commonwealth Games, in addition to other high-profile Continental multisport games and World Championships taking place every year. That global growth strategy will continue with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.” In other words, everyone from the IOC down has recognised that coastal rowing, and particularly its marquee event, the beach sprint, is the sexy young sibling of traditional rowing disciplines which has the potential to bring surf life saving with it into the broad church of Olympic open water events, alongside recent additions like surfing. Continued page 5