Magnetic Island Race Week receives Council support

Magnetic Island Race Week will be back in September with its biggest contingent yet with the support of Townsville City Council.

The 2020 event was called off due to COVID-19, however this year’s event has sold out within the first week of registrations opening.

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said Council was pleased to approve a $50,000 grant for Townsville Motorboat and Yacht Club to host the event.

“Council has a focus on bringing world-class events to Townsville to help solidify our reputation as the events capital of Northern Australia,” Cr Hill said.

“Council has thrown its support behind other blockbuster sporting events like next month’s trans-Tasman Super Rugby clash, as well as last year’s Horn v Tszyu fight and the Supercars Championship because we recognise the flow-on effect that these large-scale events have on our city’s economy.

“Not only has Magnetic Island Race Week been successful in the past, but it’s also continuously growing and will this year be hosting its biggest line-up of crews since its inception, which is why Council is proud to be able to support the event again this year.”

Community and Cultural Development Committee chairperson and local councillor Ann-Maree Greaney said events like Magnetic Island Race Week helped put the nation’s eyes on Townsville.

“There are 80 crews registered for this year’s race week, with each crew containing about 10 people, so this is a significant number of visitors heading to Magnetic Island,” Cr Greaney said.

“In comparison, the previous most-successful Magnetic Island Race Week was in 2019 with 74 crews. This makes it clear that the event is growing from strength to strength, and that there is a real appetite for yacht racing here in Townsville.

“The Townsville Motorboat and Yacht club reported the 2019 event had 65 per cent of its attendees from outside the Townsville region, which generated more than $1.1 million in expenditure across Townsville.

“Hosting this event again will be a huge boon to our city, especially for the hospitality and tourism sectors that were hit hard during the height of the pandemic last year.

“Council is providing funding to assist with event coordination, audio and visual requirements and marquee hire for the event.”

This year’s Magnetic Island Race Week will include a former Sydney to Hobart winner, and will kick off on September 2.