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Council Splash The Cash On Sports And Athletes

Aseries of the Whitsundays’ sporting clubs and junior athletes have received some early Christmas presents courtesy of Whitsunday Regional Council.

Council approved Sports and Recreation grants for five of the region’s sports groups in an end-of-year cash splash, with a total of $14,000 distributed amongst the clubs. Bowen Seagulls Junior Rugby League received the largest grant ($5,500), with Bowen Netball Association and Whitsunday Weightlifting Association receiving $3,000 each, as well as Proserpine BMX Club receiving $1,500, and Tennis Whitsunday Club $1,000. As well, Council allocated Financial Support to some of the Whitsundays’ Junior Elite Athletes in the same meeting: Sophie Fletcher, Kayla Vella, and Catherine Maund.

Sophie Fletcher – who received support of $250 dollars through the Council led program – will represent North Queensland at the State Level for both running and swimming in the 11- and 12-years category of the Hervey Bay Aquathlon Championships in February next year. Kayla Vella, a Queensland representative for touch football, has already competed in her U15s Girls Touch Championships in Wagga Wagga – for which she received $1,000 support from Council. As well, young athlete Catherine Maund received $1,000 to represent the state in Horseball Team Championships in Equitana, Melbourne back in November.

The Whitsundays has, in the past and even recently, produced some of the country’s exceptional Horseball players – a sport that combines the elements of horseback riding with polo, rugby, netball, and basketball. Most notably with Ms Maund herself, who travelled as part of the Horseball Australia team to France earlier this year alongside fellow Whitsundays rider Charlotte Adams.

That Financial Support comes after a major set of donations in November to Horseball athletes Ruby Cran, Amy Gray, Lachlan Gray, Charlotte Adams, Charlotte Lee, and Brooke Mizzi – each of whom received $1,000 to head to the Horseball Championships. Alongside them were Junior Elite Athletes Corey Stroud – who will head to an International Futsal competition, representing his country and receiving $2,000, as well as Jacob Godden, who already competed in the National Futsal Championships and was granted $2,000 A Whitsunday Regional Council spokesperson said it was “incredible to see our junior athletes competing at such a high level.”

Bicentennial Boardwalk To Receive Upgrade

Airlie Beach’s Bicentennial Boardwalk is receiving a $3.5 million upgrade. Photo contributed

Whitsunday Regional Council have announced the awarding of the contract for the first part of major upgrades to Airlie Beach’s Bicentennial Boardwalk, with the total project closing in on $3.5 million. The design for upgrades to each of the Boardwalk’s three sections will be delivered by local business Plants Whitsunday – who worked on recent comparable Council projects such as the Airlie Beach Lagoon deck installation.

Council’s Coordinator Capital Project Delivery Michael Downing said the total “renewal” will eventually encompass the entirety of the boardwalk and its three sections from VMR to Shingley, Sorrento to Coral Sea Resort, and the Broadwater Avenue section.

He said these initial upgrades were for “Separable Portion 2” and will cost over $902 thousand dollars.

“We will be replacing the full structure on the Sorrento to Coral Sea Resort, starting hopefully around April [2023],” Mr Downing said. “In those months before, [Plants Whitsunday] will be designing the whole renewal of the boardwalk.”

Council have provided Plants Whitsunday with a provisional $2.5 million for Separable Portion 1 and 3 of the Boardwalk, subject to funding and future budgetary approvals for 2023-25

The boardwalk’s entire structure will be replaced as part of the upgrades – save for the footing, which is embedded into the rock and will “remain suitable for reuse”.

“The rest of the structure, mainly the timber, will be replaced because of the maintenance it takes,” Mr Downing said. “Anyone using the boardwalk will notice there are people down there almost every day replacing boards, and it’s a significant cost. We’ve used some external funding to do this first stage and hopefully in the next few years the other stages.” Mr Downing also said that, as part of the new design, the width of the boardwalk will be expanded, bringing it to roughly 3.5-metres wide. “This is mainly because of the number of users; so, while we do it, why not upgrade it and get better width?” he said.

During the Portion 2 upgrades, the Boardwalk will be inaccessible to residents and a concrete timeline for the works has yet to be announced by Council.

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