1,400 of Queensland’s best young athletes will converge on the Townsville Sports Reserve from tomorrow until Sunday (Friday 22 – 24 March 2019) for the 2019 McDonald’s State Little Athletics Championships, injecting almost $4.1M into Townsville’s economy.
88 centres will be represented with families travelling from as far north as Port Douglas, as far south as Tenterfield and as far west as Mitchell. Athletes in the Under 9 to Under 17 age groups will compete at the Championships in a range of running, jumping and throwing events after qualifying through their Regional Championships that were held throughout the State. The competition will also see 16 multi class athletes (PARA athletes) taking part.
Each year the McDonald’s State Championships serves as a fitting finale to the Little Athletics Queensland competition calendar with the athletes thriving on the opportunity to be involved in a large scale Championship competition conducted under the Little A’s ideals of Family, Fun and Fitness.
Little Athletics Queensland CEO, Simon Cook said that Little Athletics is a sport that involves the whole family.
“Not only will the athletes make their presence known, over 2000 parents will be lending their support to the athletes,” said Mr Cook.
“There will also be over 200 volunteers, officials and coaches on hand to ensure the athletes compete to their utmost potential and have the time of their lives.
“Athletes that have competed at these Championships in the past include teen sprint sensation Riley Day, Olympic Gold Medallist Sally Pearson and Commonwealth Games Decathlete, Cedric Dubler.
“We extend our appreciation to the Townsville City Council, the State Government, Townsville Enterprise and McDonald’s for their support of the Championships, with their contribution making it possible to conduct an event of this magnitude in regional Queensland.”
Continuing its support of local events, Townsville Enterprise was proud to provide funding assistance to secure the Championships in Townsville.
“Townsville Enterprise is thrilled to assist in bringing the 2019 McDonald’s State Championships to Townsville through funding supplied by the Townsville North Queensland Bid Fund,” said Townsville Enterprise Tourism & Events Director, Bridget Woods.
“It’s anticipated that the three-day event will inject almost $4.1 million into the Townsville North Queensland economy, generated by over 5000 event attendees.
“The Championships also provide Townsville the opportunity to showcase its outstanding sporting facilities, as well as our dining, shopping and tourism experiences on offer to visiting athletes and their family.”
The Championships will culminate with the selection of the 2019 State Team of 20 boys and 20 girls who will compete at the Australian Little Athletics Championships in Hobart in April.
Competition begins at 3.00pm on Friday afternoon and concludes at approximately 2.00pm on Sunday.
