Sports Gold Coast (SGC) yesterday met with key figures from a myriad of sports to discuss a more united approach to advancing sport on the Coast.

The Southport Yacht Club was the perfect backdrop for a casual but promising conversation between representatives of the likes of AFL Gold Coast, Gold Coast District Rugby Union and Football Gold Coast.

Some of the chat surrounded ideas for harnessing the organisations’ joint power and resources to create a sustainable sporting climate for the city.

It was certainly clear that all around the table understood the need for our city’s different sports to work in a state of “coopetition” rather than seemingly fighting each other for resources and cannibalising the volunteer pool, funding, and players available.

While this casual lunch was only a small step in a more united front for community sport on the Coast, it does represent the type of approach that SGC has been working towards since its inception in 2016.

For too long have different sports sought to compete against each other in a congested Gold Coast market, rather than using their combined bargaining and lobbying power to make a meaningful difference for the Gold Coast.

This is often to the detriment of the very community that each organisation seeks to represent.

SGC thanks the organisations and representatives in attendance yesterday and applauds their visionary approach to the future – more important than ever in this post-pandemic climate.