Queensland Country Championships Draw Released

With less than two weeks to go until the Queensland Country Championships, 12 regional teams from across the Sunshine State will head to Townsville for an action-packed three days of competition.

With the Men’s and Women’s draw now finalised, it’s set to be a tough opening round for the host teams as they face regional powerhouse, the Gold Coast, who won bronze and gold respectively at the 2017 Queensland Country Championships.

2016 Rio Olympian, Kelsey Wakefield, will once again pull on her Gold Coast togs and be aiming to defend her teams 2017 gold medal. “Country Championships is always a great tournament to play with your friends but it’s always a tough competition. It’s set to be a fun weekend of water polo.”

This year’s competition will also be the first time that a new look Cairns team will compete having formed as a regional association less than six months ago. “We’re really happy that we have been able to enter two teams, one in each competition.  It’s our first competition, so our goal is to go out and compete and to win a game, ideally more, which will look to improve on as a club over the coming months,” said President, Jesse O’Hara.

The 2018 Queensland Country Championships will be played across two pools, Long Tan Memorial Pool and Northern Beaches Leisure Centre, with games starting at 3:15 pm on Friday 9^th February.  Games will continue right across the weekend culminating in back to back finals on Sunday 11th February at Long Tan starting at 10:00 am.

Water Polo Queensland Chief Executive Officer, Robert Donaghue said, “The Queensland Country Championships are a great way to start the year. Townsville will be a fantastic host region and there will be some fantastic games over the weekend, fueling regional rivalries.”

Continuing its support of local events, peak economic development and tourism body for the Townsville North Queensland region, Townsville Enterprise, threw its support behind the event to secure the Championships in Townsville.

“Townsville Enterprise is thrilled to assist in bringing the 2018 Queensland Country Water Polo Championships to Townsville through funding supplied by the Townsville North Queensland Bid Fund,” Tourism & Events Director Bridget Woods said.

“It’s anticipated that this event will inject an estimated $409,000 into the Townsville North Queensland economy, generated by the projected 520 event attendees.

“The Championships provides Townsville with the opportunity to showcase its outstanding swimming facilities, as well as our extensive dining, shopping and tourism experiences.”