Hervey Bay dropped after hosting major sporting event for 12 years

Hervey Bay has lost the hosting rights of the annual Touch Football Junior State Cup, leaving the community and tourism leaders in shock.

Queensland Touch Football said the carnival would be relocating to Rockhampton after more than a decade on the Fraser Coast.

The event attracts more than 3,000 junior touch players across 230 teams.

It was cancelled at the last minute this year due to wet weather.

Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce president Sandra Holebrook said the carnival’s departure was a major blow to the region’s economy.

“It brings a lot of additional dollars in at a time when everybody could do with it from a business perspective and it’s a great way of showcasing the region for tourism or longer stays,” she said.

“We would often get to the stage where people would stay either side of the competition to enjoy Hervey Bay and Maryborough.

The carnival was held on the Fraser Coast for the past 12 years.

Queensland Touch Football chief executive Greg Denny said Rockhampton would host the carnival biennially from next year through to 2031.

“Rockhampton is a heartland for touch football, and we are excited to partner with the Rockhampton Regional Council to host our flagship junior event,” Mr Denny said.

All good things come to an end

Queensland Touch Football is yet to decide its location for years 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2030.

In a statement, the organisation acknowledged the Fraser Coast Regional Council and Hervey Bay Touch Association’s commitment to and support of the event.

Fraser Coast councillor Darren Everard said the council was disappointed to lose the carnival.

“We understand events have a life cycle in a location and the board of Queensland Touch Football has decided to go in another direction,” he said.

“We have been negotiating an ongoing agreement for several months, this hasn’t just happened overnight.”

Ms Holebrook was disappointed community leaders were not involved in the negotiations.

She said it was unclear why the region had been ditched as host.

Cr Everard said direct negotiations would only involve third parties if they had financially contributed to hosting an event.

“When it comes to the attraction of events there is usually a commercial agreement between council as the funding body and in most cases the facility managers and the organisation,” he said.

“The Chamber of Commerce and other third parties have not been involved in any of those events.”