Jubilee Park is set to be shown off to the world as the 2024 Junior State Cup Southern Conference carnival begins in Wagga this Friday. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
NSW Touch Association General Manager Dean Russell has sung the praises of Jubilee Park ahead of it hosting the internationally televised Junior State Cup Southern Conference carnival this weekend.
“The facilities here at Jubilee Park are outstanding,” Mr Russell said.
“The actual playing facility and the way the venue is set up here are fantastic, it means that it is less than 600 metres from one side to the other.”
Jubilee Park has been the venue of choice for the NSWTA Junior State Cup Southern Conference carnival for the past six years and has drawn up to 10,000 people from across the state to Wagga Wagga each year.
Mr Russell said the carnival had grown year on year and the support from Wagga Wagga City Council (WWCC) had contributed to its success.
“Wagga has always been such a tremendous supporter of NSW Touch,” Mr Russell said.
“They were one of the first country affiliates back in the 1970s and have had a long-standing history with us, so to be able to reward such a progressive and proactive affiliation with an event like this is something that really pleases both us and WWCC.”
The 2024 iteration of the carnival marks a big occasion for NSW Touch and the city of Wagga as it marks the first year the event will be broadcast globally.
“We have some important broadcast partnerships with Kayo Freebies and Sky Sports which allow us to showcase what we are doing as a sport across the world,” Mr Russell said.
“European nations, New Zealand, Pacific Island nations, South Africa and Japan will all watch what’s happening here in Wagga this weekend and say, ‘Well, that’s something we need to aim to get to.'”
The touch football carnival isn’t the only big-time sporting event arriving in Wagga as the Women’s Professional Golfers’ Association (WPGA) arrives on 24 February and the Super Netball shortly after on 1 March.
Wagga Wagga Deputy Mayor Amelia Parkins acknowledged the rising number of elite sporting events being held in Wagga, stating that council had worked hard to maintain facilities and attract events.
“Sport has been a really important part of the identity of our community,” Ms Parkins said.
“Council has committed to upgrading and maintaining our facilities so we can host events like this. Sport provides a great opportunity to showcase our facilities and the city of Wagga Wagga.”
The NSWTA Junior State Cup Southern Conference Carnival kicks off this Friday at 8 am and will conclude with the final on Sunday at 11:30 am. Winners of the competition will proceed to the state final at Tempe on 5 March.
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