The Tweed is hoping to be a good neighbour as the Gold Coast prepares to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The announcement of the Gold Coast as host city for the games has got Tweed Coasters just as excited as their Gold Coast counterparts.
Tweed Mayor Councillor Barry Longland welcomed the news that our “neighbours” have won the right to host the games, one of the biggest sporting events in the world and can already see flow-on effects for the Tweed.
“I would like to extend my congratulations to the Mayor of Gold Coast City Council, Councillor Ron Clarke, and I intend to do that personally in the near future,” Councillor Longland said.
“This is great news for the economy of the Gold Coast and the wider south-east Queensland region.
“While we understand the Gold Coast will be building and upgrading their own sporting infrastructure to be ready in time for the Commonwealth Games, I believe the Tweed will have an important role to play by providing training venues for Australian and overseas teams.
“Council recently let a contract for a new regional hockey complex in Murwillumbah which will be completed in 2012, providing an international standard venue ideal for the training needs of international teams.
“The Tweed Regional Aquatic Centre at Murwillumbah also offers facilities of a high standard for swimming and diving training.
“I hope that the proposed Arkinstall Park regional sporting facility will also be a reality by 2018 and could offer training facilities for a range of sports.
“On top of our community facilities, the Tweed boasts ideal venues for rowing, cycling and lawn bowls.
“The Tweed already has experience as a successful venue for international hockey and rowing teams in the lead-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games,” he said.
Tweed played host to the women’s hockey team from the Netherlands as well as the Indian men’s side as well as a number of rowing teams in the lead-up to the games. Many international cyclists, including the Gold Coast’s Robbie McEwan, already use the local roads for training during the European winter.
“The Tweed’s natural environment is bound to be an attraction for many visiting for the Games, as our natural attributes differentiate us from the Gold Coast,” he said.
Phil Villiers, head of the Tweed’s peak tourism body Destination Tweed, said the increased traffic both before, during and after the games could only mean more tourists for the Tweed, too.
“Having the focus on the Gold Coast is always a good thing for the Tweed, we always get a spill-out of the visitors coming to the Gold Coast,” he said.
Mr Villiers agreed with Cr Longland that Tweed would be a ‘sports tourism’ destination.
“Teams came here in the lead-up to 2000 in Sydney and this time the travelling costs will be dimished,” he said.
“Teams will be able to come here to train and then move up to the Gold Coast for training.”
He said, while the majority of tourists would look to Queensland, the games were a good thing for Tweed and the entire country.
Meanwhile ‘Volunteering Gold Coast’, the peak body for volunteering on the Gold Coast, are expecting to be busy, due to the announcement.
The group is a volunteer resource centre, sourcing over 2500 volunteers a year to over 350 member organisations that are not-for-profit.
The Volunteering Gold Coast Management Committee has identified a thrust towards the Commonwealth Games, sponsorship and fundraising in its new Strategic Plan. Volunteering Gold Coast is seeking strong support from a variety of funding sources which spread outside its government funding program.
“We are very excited with the news about the Commonwealth Games 2018. This is a great opportunity for the Gold Coast community to come together and show the world what we are about! We are currently negotiating for large premises for a Gold Coast Community Development and Volunteering Excellence Centre,” said Richard Patterson, General Manager of Volunteering Gold Coast.
“This is a part of a massive investment in our operations to support the Games, but we are up to the challenge and, with our organisation’s ever expanding resources, we will be able to provide reliable, well trained volunteers if chosen as the primary supporting organisation for the Commonwealth Games Volunteer Resource Centre.”
