Tully hosting contest

THE Tully River will host the World White Water Rafting Championship next year. Up to 45 nations from the International Rafting Federation are expected to attend the event from May 13-20. Organiser Graham Maifredi said more than 1000 competitors and support crew were expected to travel to Tully. He said the 2017 world championship in Japan attracted a crowd of 22,000 over the seven days of competition. Maifredi, who captained the Australian team that won the world title on the Zambesi River in Africa in 2001, said the event would put North Queensland on the world stage. He said international competitors would fly into Townsville and Cairns en route to Tully. “It will be a great thing for the North,” he said.