GOLD COAST MP JOINS STARS FOR COOLANGATTA GOLD LAUNCH
COOLANGATTA GOLD, June 22: Five new categories have been added to this year's Coolangatta Gold to cater for the growth of Surf Life Saving Australia's iconic Ironman endurance race.
Parliamentary Secretary representing the Premier on the Gold Coast and for the Commonwealth Games 2018 bid, Peta-Kaye Croft, joined four-time winner Caine Eckstein, three-time women's winner Hayley Bateup, two-time runner up Courtney Hancock and emerging star Mitch Miller at Burleigh Heads today for the official launch of this year's event.
Ironmen and women will flock to the Gold Coast on September 25 for the 11th staging of the Coolangatta Gold. Surf Life Saving Australia has added three new individual categories to the event - the under-19 female, Masters Men 50+ and Masters Women 40+, as well as two extra teams events for Open Mixed Teams and under-19 Mixed Teams.
In total there will now be 15 categories included in this year's race, an event first staged and created for the Coolangatta Gold movie in 1984 and won by Guy Leech.
The little-known Manly lifesaver conquered a test of endurance which has now developed into Ironman racing's greatest challenge of staying power.
"After running the event in 1984 for two years and again in 1991 for two years, we brought the Gold back for good in 2005 and it is now firmly entrenched on our surf sports calendar," said Dave Thompson, SLSA's General Manager - Sport.
"It has been exciting to watch it grow into such a popular event for people of all ages.
"Many competitors are addicted to the Gold and keep coming back year after year. I'm sure non-surf lifesavers who attempt the race have even greater respect for those elite Ironmen and women who are so amazing at every discipline over the grueling course."
The 2011 Coolangatta Gold - supported by the Queensland Government through Events Queensland - will start and finish at Kurrawa.
All competitors will paddle north from Kurrawa to Northcliffe from a deep-water start, before the field set their sights on Coolangatta (46.65km long course) and Currumbin (30.5km short course) before the return to Northcliffe and onto the finish line back at Kurrawa.
Peta-Kaye Croft, said the race would draw thousands of spectators.
"Iconic sporting events like this showcase what is great about the Gold Coast. Big crowds support the local tourism industry, local jobs and local business," Ms Croft said.
"That is why, in the recent State Budget, the Queensland Government is investing more than $170 million in events supporting regions including the Gold Coast over the next four years. And, as we continue our effort to secure the 2018 Commonwealth Games for the Gold Coast, this great race is yet another example of the Gold Coast being event ready in every way."
"It really is the perfect backdrop," she said. "The race will be broadcast nationally on television so even if people are unable to visit this year and watch it live, the spectacular scenery should entice them to book their next holiday to Queensland and perhaps even do the race themselves."
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Kurrawa's Caine Eckstein has now officially earned the title as "Mr Coolangatta Gold" after last year adding his fourth official Surf Life Saving Australia Coolangatta Gold title, after previously taking the crown in 2005, 2008 and 2009.
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Eckstein, an outstanding open water ski paddler who doesn't have a weak discipline, has set the benchmark and will again be the man to beat as he chases his own slice of Coolangatta Gold history and title number five - his fourth in a row.
Lining up in the women's race will be his Kurrawa club mate, three-time women's champion Hayley Bateup, who is as 
synonymous with the iconic race as Eckstein and Leech. She has extra special motivation in 2011 after missing the 2010 race when injury forced her to enter hospital for shoulder surgery.
It allowed Alicia Marriott to also add Coolangatta Gold title number three; setting up what organisers were hoping would be a very competitive match-up for 2011.
But Marriott has this week indicated she "is not doing the Gold at this stage" as she concentrates on the Ironwoman Series.
It does clear the way for 2010-11 Ironwoman Series winner and 2011 Australian Ironwoman champion, Northcliffe's Courtney Hancock to challenge Bateup and write herself into the history books as the only competitor, male or female to win the "Triple Crown" in one calendar year.
Hancock is quickly emerging as the girl to watch in Ironwoman competition over any distance and in any conditions.
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Among the under 19 competitors in 2011 will be former Sunshine Coaster Mitch Miller, who last season became the youngest qualifier for this season's Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series.
Miller finished third to Tanyn Lyndon in this year's under 19 Australian Ironman final and has recently made the full-time move from Noosa Heads to the Gold Coast to link up with North Burleigh.
Entries for the 2011 Coolangatta Gold are open. Entries close on August 14, with late entries closing on August 28. Enter on online at http://www.sls.com.au/.
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