Part 1: Olympic swimmer lends lustre to sports tour

The children's smiles and excited gasps said it all as they passed around the gleaming medals of the fastest female distance swimmer Australia has ever produced.

Dual Olympian Julie McDonald, who still holds the Commonwealth record for the 800m freestyle from 1986, was doing her bit for the North Burnett Sports Tour 2004 with stirring advice and the gold, silver and bronze mementos of international success.

Julie's efforts in visiting schools, addressing sports nights and encouraging local swimmers were supported by popular television presenter and former Brisbane Lion Richard Champion and a dozen regional development officers and coaches.

Former AFL player Richard Champion in action with Gin Gin State School fans. (Photo courtesy of Bundaberg News-Mail.)

The annual tour in the Wide Bay hinterland is run by the shire councils of Biggenden, Eidsvold, Gayndah, Kolan, Monto, Mundubbera and Perry, with strong organisational and financial support from the Department of Communities.

Overall responsibility for staging the event is rotated year to year among the seven local government members of the North Burnett Sport and Recreation Council, with the baton being passed to Mundubbera Shire Council for 2004-05.

Coordinator Matt Hansen said the annual tour began in 1998 with a series of come-and-try days at local schools, so children in the region could experience a range of sports beyond the local staples of cricket, rugby league and netball.

"We encourage the kids to give those sports a go as well, but this year's program also included basketball, golf, bowls, Aussie rules, futsal, tae kwon do, surf life-saving and little athletics," Mr Hansen said.

"In just two weeks, we were able to involve thousands of primary and secondary students from 26 schools across the region, so the come-and-try days still form the backbone of the North Burnett Sports Tour."

Mr Hansen said the 2004 program included many new elements, including a Locker Room forum hosted by the Department with high-calibre presenters such as former Bronco Steve Renouf, sports performance consultant Steve Nance and dietitian and physiologist Leanne Hammond from the Queensland Academy of Sport.

"It's often quite difficult for our local clubs and officials to access such professional expertise and advice, particularly in their own backyard, so we're keen to make the Locker Room a permanent fixture of future tours," he said.

"We then held a series of sports nights, primarily for coaches and administrators, with Julie McDonald and Richard Champion as guest speakers.

"Another innovation this year was the Stay on Your Feet Program run by Queensland Health to help seniors keep mobile, avoid falls and reduce their risk of serious injury.

"A couple of councils also incorporated local programs in the tour, such as 'Elderly and Disabled Water Aerobics' and 'Under 5 Learn to Swim' sessions."

Mr Hansen said the 2004 program had also introduced an education and training tour based on the training needs analysis conducted by SRQ at the previous sports nights.

"That analysis showed clubs were keen to enhance their administrative skills, so the workshops provided sessions on fundraising, recruiting and retaining volunteers, club meetings, writing funding submissions, team travel and event management," he said.

"They also covered contemporary issues such as working with children and young people, child safety and blue cards, sports psychology and specialist coaching."

Mr Hansen said the final and most exciting stage of the 2004 tour was the Extreme Sports Expo held in March.

"Most of the shires have skate bowls and BMX tracks, so we recruited a couple of top-flight skateboarders and riders to put on some red-hot demonstrations for the kids and hold skill development workshops," he said.

"It was one of the real highlights of the six-month program."

Mr Hansen said the 2004 tour had been an outstanding success, involving more than 4,000 participants from four to 94 years of age.

"This has been the best year ever and it wouldn't have been possible without the funding and support from SRQ," he said.

"Each of the seven shires received $5,000 under the Local Government Development Program (now known as the Local Sport and Recreation Program), which gave us a total budget of $35,000.

"That worked out to about $8 a head, so it was very good value for money, particularly since we received extensive media over quite a few months.

"The coverage across the region in the Central and North Burnett Times promoted a very healthy message on the many benefits of sport and active recreation."

The Queensland Government, through the Department of Communities, will provide more than $50 million in 2005 to help eligible organisations undertake projects that improve sport and recreation opportunities from the grassroots to the elite level.

The Local Government Development Program allows city and shire councils to apply for funding under a number of categories.  For participation projects, one amount of up to $5,000 will be paid at 100 per cent.  Above that threshold, other eligible costs will be paid at up to 50 per cent.

Read more about the North Burnett Sports Tour.

Part 1: Olympic swimmer lends lustre to sports tour

The children's smiles and excited gasps said it all as they passed around the gleaming medals of the fastest female distance swimmer Australia has ever produced.

Dual Olympian Julie McDonald, who still holds the Commonwealth record for the 800m freestyle from 1986, was doing her bit for the North Burnett Sports Tour 2004 with stirring advice and the gold, silver and bronze mementos of international success.

Julie's efforts in visiting schools, addressing sports nights and encouraging local swimmers were supported by popular television presenter and former Brisbane Lion Richard Champion and a dozen regional development officers and coaches.

Former AFL player Richard Champion in action with Gin Gin State School fans. (Photo courtesy of Bundaberg News-Mail.)

The annual tour in the Wide Bay hinterland is run by the shire councils of Biggenden, Eidsvold, Gayndah, Kolan, Monto, Mundubbera and Perry, with strong organisational and financial support from the Department of Communities.

Overall responsibility for staging the event is rotated year to year among the seven local government members of the North Burnett Sport and Recreation Council, with the baton being passed to Mundubbera Shire Council for 2004-05.

Coordinator Matt Hansen said the annual tour began in 1998 with a series of come-and-try days at local schools, so children in the region could experience a range of sports beyond the local staples of cricket, rugby league and netball.

"We encourage the kids to give those sports a go as well, but this year's program also included basketball, golf, bowls, Aussie rules, futsal, tae kwon do, surf life-saving and little athletics," Mr Hansen said.

"In just two weeks, we were able to involve thousands of primary and secondary students from 26 schools across the region, so the come-and-try days still form the backbone of the North Burnett Sports Tour."

Mr Hansen said the 2004 program included many new elements, including a Locker Room forum hosted by the Department with high-calibre presenters such as former Bronco Steve Renouf, sports performance consultant Steve Nance and dietitian and physiologist Leanne Hammond from the Queensland Academy of Sport.

"It's often quite difficult for our local clubs and officials to access such professional expertise and advice, particularly in their own backyard, so we're keen to make the Locker Room a permanent fixture of future tours," he said.

"We then held a series of sports nights, primarily for coaches and administrators, with Julie McDonald and Richard Champion as guest speakers.

"Another innovation this year was the Stay on Your Feet Program run by Queensland Health to help seniors keep mobile, avoid falls and reduce their risk of serious injury.

"A couple of councils also incorporated local programs in the tour, such as 'Elderly and Disabled Water Aerobics' and 'Under 5 Learn to Swim' sessions."

Mr Hansen said the 2004 program had also introduced an education and training tour based on the training needs analysis conducted by SRQ at the previous sports nights.

"That analysis showed clubs were keen to enhance their administrative skills, so the workshops provided sessions on fundraising, recruiting and retaining volunteers, club meetings, writing funding submissions, team travel and event management," he said.

"They also covered contemporary issues such as working with children and young people, child safety and blue cards, sports psychology and specialist coaching."

Mr Hansen said the final and most exciting stage of the 2004 tour was the Extreme Sports Expo held in March.

"Most of the shires have skate bowls and BMX tracks, so we recruited a couple of top-flight skateboarders and riders to put on some red-hot demonstrations for the kids and hold skill development workshops," he said.

"It was one of the real highlights of the six-month program."

Mr Hansen said the 2004 tour had been an outstanding success, involving more than 4,000 participants from four to 94 years of age.

"This has been the best year ever and it wouldn't have been possible without the funding and support from SRQ," he said.

"Each of the seven shires received $5,000 under the Local Government Development Program (now known as the Local Sport and Recreation Program), which gave us a total budget of $35,000.

"That worked out to about $8 a head, so it was very good value for money, particularly since we received extensive media over quite a few months.

"The coverage across the region in the Central and North Burnett Times promoted a very healthy message on the many benefits of sport and active recreation."

The Queensland Government, through the Department of Communities, will provide more than $50 million in 2005 to help eligible organisations undertake projects that improve sport and recreation opportunities from the grassroots to the elite level.

The Local Government Development Program allows city and shire councils to apply for funding under a number of categories.  For participation projects, one amount of up to $5,000 will be paid at 100 per cent.  Above that threshold, other eligible costs will be paid at up to 50 per cent.

Read more about the North Burnett Sports Tour.