- Published
The annual rowing regatta for schools in the Australian state of Queensland usually passes off without too much attention.
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regatta → publish → attention
Each year more than 600 of the state's most promising teenage rowers battle it out on the crocodile-inhabited Fitzroy River, in the city of Rockhampton.
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600 → battle → Rockhampton
"We've never had any media wanting to attend here," Anthea O'Loughlin, head of Rowing Queensland, tells the BBC.
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O'Loughlin → have → BBC
In six years' time, the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics are set to stage rowing and canoe sprint events in this very stretch of water, which has just passed a technical assessment and been endorsed as safe and fair for athletes.
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which → set → athletes
While sightings of saltwater crocodiles on the river – which number around 500 and can grow to four metres (13ft) long – are not uncommon, state government files going back more than 40 years record no attacks by the reptiles on humans.
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files → number → humans
And while influential figures at last month's World Rowing congress in Amsterdam made occasional references to "safety", the presence of the reptiles was not their chief concern.
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presence → make → reptiles
"Fairness" is what's been raised with British Rowing's chief executive Tom Solesbury – a reference to the tidal river's natural bends and currents which many in the rowing community say make it unsuitable for elite competition.
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it → raise → competition
Drew Ginn, who has won three Olympic gold medals for Australia in rowing, told BBC Radio he had concerns over potential flooding and "fairness and integrity" at the venue.
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he → win → venue
"Personally, I'm not fearful of the Australian animals but I've never had a crocodile near me," he said.
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he → have → me
"I'm sure I'd row faster, I'm sure all the athletes would row faster.
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athletes → row → ?
That's on the list of concerns, I don't think it's the highest priority in concerns but it was certainly cited very early on."
The German rowing body's president Moritz Petri said athletes had also questioned the sustainability of holding the event some 600km (373 miles) from Brisbane.
But the "so-called impediments" got short shrift from the most senior politician in Queensland, state premier David Crisafulli, who reached for less diplomatic language.
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who → think → language
"Let's be honest, let's scratch beneath the surface and call it for what it is," he said days after the Amsterdam meeting.
"
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he → scratch → meeting
It is a group of interstate and overseas elites who are trying to bully their way because they don't want to go to regional Queensland and that's not right."
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that → try → Queensland
Rowing chiefs contacted by the BBC before Thursday's decision declined to comment directly on Crisafulli's "elites" remarks.
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chiefs → contact → remarks
But both Petri and Simon Wickham, chief executive of Rowing New Zealand, said their concerns had nothing to do with regional or urban preference but with competitors getting fair racing.
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competitors → say → racing
Petri added it was about what's best for their athletes who will train four years for the event, "dreaming night [after] night of becoming an Olympic champion".
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who → add → night
Whether it was crocs or currents that tipped the balance, ultimately it was the sport's governing body World Rowing and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that had the final say on the river's suitability.
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that → tip → suitability
On Thursday they approved it after a technical assessment by an engineering firm and the Games' infrastructure authority – which looked at the riverbed, competition course, river flows, water levels and likely weather conditions during the Games.
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which → approve → Games
"Based on the extensive analysis undertaken, we now know that the Fitzroy River is capable of providing fair competition conditions during the period of the Games," World Rowing president Jean-Christophe Rolland said.
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Rolland → base → Games
There was also now "confidence" in the river for canoe sprint athletes, said Thomas Konietzko, president of that sport's governing body, Paddle Worldwide.
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Konietzko → be → body
The state premier was delighted.
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premier → delight → ?
"The Fitzroy has passed with flying colours," an upbeat Crisafulli told parliament.
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Crisafulli → pass → parliament
Signed, sealed and delivered."
In backing Rockhampton, the state government ignored a 2025 report it commissioned itself, which found the location unsuitable and concluded the best option would be to use a course built in Sydney for the 2000 Olympics.
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option → sign → Olympics
The Fitzroy now needs to pass a final assessment of its design, value for money and long-term community legacy.
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Fitzroy → need → money
As the decision rests with the state government, it's unlikely to fall at this hurdle.
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it → rest → hurdle
But a wider debate will continue over whether Rockhampton is the right place to invest heavily in rowing facilities - and whether it can accommodate the 2032 influx of visitors.
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it → continue → visitors
The city is surrounded by cattle producers and normally experiences its peak number of guests every three years during Beef Week.
So what about the crocodiles?
They're not mentioned anywhere in the latest update from the IOC and World Rowing and they weren't considered in the technical assessment.
This weekend's school regatta's safety management plan does however mention the word "crocodile" 28 times.
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plan → surround → crocodile
"The Fitzroy River is within recognised crocodile country," it says.
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it → recognise → country
"Event planning must therefore assume that a crocodile sighting is possible…
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sighting → assume → ?
No natural waterway in crocodile country can be guaranteed to be crocodile-free."
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waterway → guarantee → country
Procedures this weekend include suspending racing and competitors returning to the bank if a croc is spotted.
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croc → include → bank
Asked specifically about crocodiles, New Zealand's Wickham told the BBC the primary concern was ensuring the "fairest possible course" for rowers.
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concern → ask → rowers
"We would obviously expect any course chosen to be safe for rowers," he added.
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he → expect → rowers
The company owned by Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting, which supported Rockhampton's bid and has pumped millions into sports including rowing, pointed to "fake media" concerns about risks posed by flooding and crocodiles in the Fitzroy.
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which → own → Fitzroy
"The people of Rocky for many years have sent their own children to train in this river, and for competitions, without a single crocodile incident," a spokesperson said in a statement.
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spokesperson → send → statement
Brisbane 2032's chief executive has said organisers are making contingency plans "as we would for any venue".
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we → say → venue
The 2000 Olympics venue in Sydney is ready and waiting as a backup – though that would be unconscionable for Queenslanders.
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that → wait → Queenslanders
For the school-age rowers at this weekend's regatta, none of this debate really matters as they take to the water.
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they → matter → water
"For our students, the Fitzroy is first and foremost their home water," says Phillip Moulds, headmaster of The Rockhampton Grammar School.
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Moulds → say → School
"The Fitzroy has also been the starting point for many… some of whom have gone on to compete at the highest levels of the sport nationally and internationally."
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some → go → sport
The Aporia
