Queensland Schools Rowing Championships Moved to Bucca Weir

Rowing Queensland wishes to advise everyone that due to circumstances out of anyone’s control the Queensland Schools Championships are no longer able to be held in Rockhampton on the 18th, 19th and 20th September.  Due to large rain falls in Central Queensland, the Rockhampton Regional Council has informed Rowing Queensland that they are expecting around 30 000 mega litres of water per day to be flowing into Rockhampton, necessitating the opening of the Rockhampton barrage.  Due to the amount of water and risk of large river debris the Rockhampton Regional Council will be withdrawing the rowing course immediately from the Fitzroy River; as such it is no longer viable to hold the regatta in Rockhampton due to the associated safety risks. 
The Bundaberg Rowing Club has agreed to host the Championships at Bucca Weir.  As you can appreciate hosting a regatta of this size is no small task, and made more difficult by the very short time frame. This will be a massive effort to put on the event on such short notice so BRC is to be congratulated for taking it on!

Please see the below statement from the Rockhampton Regional Council regarding the withdrawal of the course in Rockhampton:

Considering the information below Council has decided to remove the rowing course from the river, commencing immediately.  I wish to apologise for the impacts this may have, including the cancellation of the regatta planned for 18-20 Sept.  Rockhampton will also miss out on the economic benefits of hosting the event.
 
The decision is based on our past experiences with river flows, the unpredictability and lack of means to control the debris that may impact the course structure, and that the predicted river run will arrive approximate to the time of the event.
 
Michael Borg
Operations Manager │ Fleet Services
Rockhampton Regional Council - Rockhampton Office