Mission Statement
Our mission is in starting the Paradise Regatta was to solve the following problems:
1. The Gold Coast despite being Australias 6th largest population centre, fastest growing city, having an ideal climate for rowing and a huge school rowing population has no funded elite program for high school graduates to pursue their high performance dreams.
Solution: Proceeds from the Paradise Regatta go to the Griffith University Rowing Club Foundation that aims to build an equipment and coaching support base to train those selected to state and Australian honours.
2. Rowing lacks a major day in the Australian Sporting Calender.
Yachting has the Sydney to Hobart. Horse racing has the Melbourne Cup. Rowing has the… ….
Solution: The incredible location of the Paradise Regatta is perfectly suited to creating a sustainable annual media interest in rowing. This course takes the sport to the people in a place that millions of tourists look to attend each year.
This race location has the ability to attract some of the best international crews as the choice of holding the Australian Rowing Coaches Conference 2008 on the Gold Coast demonstrates.
The twin media specatacles of a Trans-Tasman University Head of the River and an International Boat Race pitting the VIIIs of Australia, New Zealand and other invited nations is a televised future we are currently pursing.
Imagine if the Wallabies never played a home game in Australia. This is the situation that Australias rowers find selves in each year when they only get the chance to compete on the other side of the world.
The Paradise Regatta will change this and give the Australian public an opportunity to support their much respected yet currently enigmatic rowing team.
3. Rowing offers little corporate return for businesses.
By running a televised event in the heart of one of Australias largest cities corporate support for attending crews can be increased.
In 2008 all School and Millionaires Row crews successfully attracted corporate support through decisions based on a mix of philanthrophy and the Paradise Regattas efforts to offer a corporate return through initiatives like our event documentary to be posted on You-tube, big screen promotion in Cavil Avenue and web links.
In time the Paradise Regatta hopes that crew corporate support will be based purely on corporate return and are putting steps in place to ensure this agenda comes to frution.
4. There is no one regatta that brings together School, University, Masters and Elite Rowers plus a raft of Australias other passionate watersports competitors.
The accomodation abundance of Surfers Paradise allow the unique situation of bringing together Australias rowers in one place.
The Paradise Regatta in 2009 will also be hosting races for:
- Dragon Boats
- Our Rigger Canoes
- Model Boats – (Evandale Lake)
- Kayaks
- Surf Boats
- Surf Ski
- Board Paddlers.
When complete it will be bigger than Ben Hur basically…
In Summmary:
We hope that our desire to solve these problems has help inform you as to what drives us here at the Paradise Regatta. Its a challenging mission but one which we are totally comitted to over the long haul as we feel its the next logical step for a sport with a huge following both within Australia and Internationally.
