Tag: bowls

The Gold Coast soars into spring

Posted on by Kesha West

Whether it’s aircraft, live music, art, or even lawn bowls that you’re into, there’s no better time to escape the final weeks of winter and book a weekend on the Gold Coast.

With spring in the air and blue skies on the horizon, expect an aerial spectacular like no other when the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast takes to the sky over Surfers Paradise.

The three-day event from 18 August features heart-pumping aerobatics and formation flying from the world’s best military aviators and civilian performers.

Two weekends later, the Surfers Paradise beachfront will be transformed into a free music festival as SPRINGTIME blooms for a second year. With more than 30 live music acts across two stages, the VANS Skate Plaza, mural artists and a huge interactive performance installation on the beach, expect guaranteed good times from 1 September all weekend.

In a change of tempo but with no less action, the world’s best bowlers and para-bowlers will descend on the Gold Coast from 29 August for the 2023 World Bowls Championships, with competitors from 44 nations.

“There is no better time to visit the Gold Coast,” said Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick. “The sheer variety of events this city is hosting over the next month is extraordinary and it’s the reason why our reputation as the ultimate events destination continues to grow. After years of planning, we are thrilled to see the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast lift off.”

“What sets our event apart from your ‘typical airshow’ is its unique setting, high tempo and diverse hospitality offerings,” said Pacific Airshow Gold Coast founder Kevin Elliott. “We offer something for everyone, including those who have never considered attending an airshow before. There’s always something to see, always something in your face, always something new happening. It’s something you have to experience to understand.”

From 29 August to 10 September the city hosts the World Bowls Championships for the first time. The sport’s pinnacle international competition will be held across five Gold Coast bowls locations, with finals held at Club Helensvale on 2-3 September and Broadbeach Bowls Club on 9-10 September.

“We are thrilled to have secured this prestigious tournament for the Gold Coast, and the World Bowls Champion of Champions directly after it from 11- 16 September,” said Ms McCormick. “With over 540 competitors and coaches from 44 nations descending on the Gold Coast, this year’s event will be the biggest tournament in the event’s history, and we are expecting some close matches and world-class competition.”

“The Gold Coast is a heartland for the sport of bowls, and its clubs and greens are renowned the world over, so anticipation and expectation from the bowls community and competing nations for the 2023 World Bowls Championships is absolutely sky high – akin to what will be on display at the inaugural Pacific Airshow,” said Bowls Australia General Manager – Promotion and Partnerships Aidan Davis.

“This is the first occasion that para-sport players will compete alongside able-bodied bowlers, showcasing the truly inclusive nature of the sport, and with 11 gold medals up for grabs across two blockbuster finals weekends, home crowds will be hoping the Gold Coast greens are a happy hunting ground for the world’s number one bowls team, the Right at Home Australian Jackaroos.”

The Gold Coast will officially bring in spring on 1 September with the return of Major Events Gold Coast’s newest free music festival, SPRINGTIME. The three-day festival on Surfers Paradise beach will continue to shine a spotlight on Australian artists, and highlight local music, arts and the skate scene while celebrating the best parts of the country’s most popular beachside destination.

The 2023 lineup features homegrown favourites like Matt Corby, Bag Raiders and Boo Seeka with acclaimed international artist BENEE.

“We want this festival to present some of the best Australian contemporary artists as well as to celebrate and support the musical talent right here on the iconic Surfers Paradise beach,” said Major Events Gold Coast Director of Festivals and Events Mark Duckworth.

“In 2023 we’re stoked to welcome the incredible BENEE from New Zealand, Matt Corby and many more to the three-day lineup, plus we’ll have live mural artists, a pop-up skate plaza, DJ workshops and a massive interactive art installation inspired by retro arcade games. It’s going to be a lot of fun!”

The festival kicks off on 1 September the day after the Gold Coast Music Awards which are proudly supported again this year by SPRINGTIME.

June is the month of nationals on the Gold Coast

Posted on by Major Events Gold Coast

The country’s sporting elite descend on the Gold Coast in June for a month of nationals.

One of the legacies of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games is the city’s list of world-class venues and facilities, in June some of those venues will spring into action again hosting three premier national championships.

The Santos Wheelchair Rugby National Championship kicks off at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre on 2 June, then in the following week more than 1000 competitors will take over the venue for the Judo Australia National Championships from 9-12 June. At the same time, the 2023 Australian Open Bowls will roll back into town hosted at various clubs across the Gold Coast from 10-23 June, including at another legacy venue, Broadbeach Bowls Club.

Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick said the Gold Coast’s reputation for hosting major events, along with our world-class venues, helps the city secure and retain these pinnacle national sporting tournaments.

“One of the wonderful legacies of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games is the many state-of-the-art, multi-purpose venues we have here, which allow us to attract, and keep, major international and national sporting events,” said Ms McCormick.

“The Gold Coast continues to grow its reputation as a major sporting event destination with facilities to rival the world’s best, coupled with our great weather and accommodation options, that is a very attractive offering for event organisers looking for long-term homes for their annual competitions.”

Just steps from the beach, Broadbeach Bowls Club will not only play a major role in the Australian Open tournament in June, it will also play host to the 2023 World Bowls Championships secured for August and September this year. More than 45 countries are expected to participate in the championships including, for the first time, the world’s best para-athletes. This month’s Australian Open titles has attracted record registrations with around 3500 of the country’s, and indeed the world’s, best bowlers registered to compete, with the final two days broadcast live on 7Two, Fox Sports and Kayo.

The world-class Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre (GCSLC) is another in-demand venue that is regularly booked out all year round with major sporting events, and this month is no exception. The 2023 Santos Wheelchair Rugby National Championship sees the country’s best in the sport compete across three days of fierce action much to the delight of spectators. The event is broadcast live on Kayo Sports and Foxtel.

Wheelch

From 9 June, the Judo Australia National Championships returns to the GCSLC. Major Events Gold Coast secured a three-year deal for the National Championships to be held at the venue from 2023–25. The GCSLC has been identified as a potential host venue for judo for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Acting Coast Mayor Donna Gates said she was proud to see the Gold Coast secure so many premier national and international sporting events.

“Increasingly our city and sporting venues are being chosen to host major sporting tournaments, that bring thousands of participants and spectators here, further cementing our reputation as one of Australia’s, and the globe’s, top sporting cities,” said Acting Mayor Donna Gates.

“For Gold Coasters, these events provide the chance to watch the country’s elite athletes in action right in their own backyard, whether it is judo, wheelchair rugby or lawn bowls. Don’t miss this month of nationals!”

Spectators are welcome at all national championships in June with tickets available through the individual sports’ websites. Wheelchair Rugby, Judo Australia and Bowls Australia.

Australia’s best bowlers celebrated at awards held in the ‘Home of Bowls’

Posted on by Kesha West

Bowl’s most outstanding performers of 2021 and 2022, and the sport’s greatest achievers, have been recognised at the Bowls Australia Hall of Fame and Annual Awards Night held overnight on the Gold Coast.

The red carpet was rolled out at Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise, as the best national and international bowlers were celebrated, including Male and Female Bowler of the Year, International Male and Female Bowler of the Year, Bowler with a Disability of the Year and Club of the Year among many others.

Among the guests in attendance were a number of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games medallists.

Major Events Gold Coast (MEGC) was proud to support the Female Bowler of the Year award, awarded to Kelsey Cottrell from Queensland. Fellow Queenslander Nick Cahill took out Male Bowler of the Year, while yet another Queensland bowler, Lynsey Clarke, won International Female Bowler of the Year. NSW bowler Aaron Wilson was awarded International Male Bowler of the Year.

Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick said MEGC was proud to be able to continue to support Bowls Australia events on the Gold Coast.

“The Gold Coast has well and truly become the home of bowls with a long list of prestigious national bowls events being hosted in the city, including the Australian Open and the World Bowls Championships in 2023,” said Ms McCormick.

“These fantastic events bring thousands of competitors, their families and spectators to our city which in turn delivers a huge boost to our local economy.”

Along with the individual award winners, the Awards also celebrated the achievements of five bowlers who were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Three more bowlers were elevated to Hall of Fame Legend – Karen Murphy AM, Stephen Glasson OAM and Robert Parrella OAM. The Australian bowlers each have long and decorated careers, between them winning multiple Commonwealth Games gold medals and World Bowls Championships.

Bowls Australia’s CEO Neil Dalrymple said Gold Coast was the perfect backdrop to the sport’s night of nights.

“The Gold Coast is a heartland for the sport of bowls and was an ideal setting to showcase the achievements of both the sport’s grassroots and high-performance elite at the Hall of Fame and Awards Night, where many Queenslander’s contributions were recognised.”

The Hall of Fame and Awards Night is part of the 2022 National Festival of Bowls underway on the Gold Coast until 14 October.

The Nationals brings together six of the sport’s most coveted national events across two weeks of exciting bowls action with more national titles set to be bestowed across the 15-day period than at other time in the sport’s history.

“The Nationals highlights why our city is now recognised as one of the best destinations for major sport, across the globe,’’ said Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

“Hosting this tournament is a major coup for our city and is the first time six national titles will be on the line at the one event.

“Our current global ranking for Bets Sports Cities is No 26 and I’m confident that major tournaments like this, followed by the World Bowls Championships in 2023, will further boost our stakes as a place to compete, and enjoy, sport.”

Today the bowls action rolls on with the Australian Championships underway at Broadbeach Bowls Club until Friday 14 October.

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