Leading the way in sport and recreation

The Mackay region is home to many successful sports personalities, such as Olympic champion Cathy Freeman, World ranked tennis player Nicole Pratt, and rugby league greats Dale Shearer, Martin Bella and Wendell Sailor.

To harness that sporting greatness, Mackay Regional Council is undertaking an Open Space, Sports and Recreation study on the region from July 2009 to April 2010.

A Queensland Government grant of $45,000 will help fund the exciting strategic document.

The region has a strong sporting foundation and it is with better services and facilities that we can ensure this strong sporting accolade continues.

The results of this study will provide vital information on available land resources, current and future participation trends of sports and recreational needs and the expectations and growth of the community. This information will aid in the provision of suitable locations for activities into the future, assist community based sporting and recreation organisations in their development and make sports more accessible, affordable and sustainable.

Council is always trying to better its services and facilities to encourage active lifestyles. One example of how it is doing this is the proposed free bicycle scheme in the Mackay CBD.

Council takes great pride in ensuring its facilities are family friendly, welcoming to tourists and sun smart for all patrons.

The region has organised activities for people of all ages and works closely with facility operators to ensure there is plenty of reason to leave the car at home, slip into a pair of walking shoes and make the most of the beautiful outdoors. Mackay is about an hour’s drive from the magnificent Eungella National Park, where you can see the platypus or hike around the forest at Finch Hatton Gorge and other national park walking tracks.

The facilities in Mackay are set to get even bigger with a sports stadium on the development front and an expanding sports and recreation department.