Let’s all work together to give city sporting chance

CONGRATULATIONS to the Gold Coast Bulletin for its articles in Thursday’s edition, not only highlighting the lack of promotion of the Wallabies v Argentina Test at Cbus Stadium, Robina on September 15 but the more significant issue of why the Gold Coast allows itself to be set up for failure by parties outside our city (‘Argy bargy as test flop tipped’, GCB, 16/8).

For our Gold Coast rugby fans, the failure to inform all stakeholders in Gold Coast Rugby of next month’s game is a massive concern, with long-term knock-on effects that will adversely impact the development of the game.

As your paper correctly points out, if the Gold Coast cannot support next month’s rugby international with a capacity crowd at Cbus Stadium, then it is unlikely to be given future international Test games or Rugby Sevens tournaments.

All the effort and cost that went into making the Rugby Sevens event at the Commonwealth Games an outstanding success will be long forgotten and a waste.

This will be bad for rugby and a disaster for our city which, following the Commonwealth Games, aspires to be a world-class sports destination.

I understand the decision to host the Wallaby Test on the Gold Coast was made more than 12 months ago, possibly even two years ago.

This highlights two problems:

1. The failure of decision-makers outside the Gold Coast to understand the Gold Coast market; and

2. The Gold Coast failing to have an accountable body which can take responsibility for ensuring the success of international or interstate sporting events.

According to the City of Gold Coast sports plan commissioned and delivered five years ago, government (local and state), education (universities and schools), business, and sporting clubs and associations all need to share in “the heavy lifting” in the development, promotion and support of sports in our city.

It is a great plan but sadly has been only partially implemented.

Sports Gold Coast, a not-forprofit company, was established three years ago by a small group of businessmen and women to work with the council, the education sector, and grassroots and national sporting groups in the implementation of this plan by activating the Gold Coast business sector.

The abovementioned stakeholders and pillars of our sporting community need to regularly communicate and work together to promote upcoming events. This is not happening. Sports Gold Coast, on first learning of the Wallaby Test, initiated a meeting of all the stakeholders in rugby in our city on May 10 to work on a plan action.

There have been two subsequent meetings.

Although the initiative has been successful in galvanising the support of schools and local rugby clubs, with over 1000 children participating in a march on the night of the Test, it also clearly demonstrates the severe consequences of stakeholders failing to communicate.

For example, the biggest rugby game this year for Gold Coast Rugby will be the TSS v Nudgee game. It is being played at Nudgee College in Brisbane on the day of the Test.

This would have been the ideal curtain-raiser for the Test, guaranteeing a crowd of at least 10,000 for that game alone. Why no one in rugbyland thought to make inquiries on this 12 months ago is a sad indictment on the administration of rugby and its knowledge of the rugby ecosystem.

Questions must be asked as to why Tourism and Events Queensland and Rugby Australia have difficulty communicating and understanding the Gold Coast.

Full power to the Bulletin for sticking up for our city, but if we are going to make this city great we need to communicate better and unite in a shared vision of what sort of city we want to live in.

Sports Gold Coast is seeking to solve this problem through sport.

It cannot do this alone, without the support of the council, universities, schools, and sporting clubs, teams and associations.

Sports Gold Coast hopes that our city will learn from the problems identified in the promotion of next month’s Wallaby Test and the opening and closing ceremonies at the Commonwealth Games by taking full ownership of its future and working together.

GEOFF SMITH, CHAIRMAN, SPORTS GOLD COAST