The Fitzroy River in Rockhampton has been cleared to host Olympic and Paralympic rowing and canoeing events at the 2032 Brisbane Games, giving the crocodile-filled course the green light after an independent technical assessment. The decision moves the venue into the next phase of planning even though the review did not weigh crocodile risk.
That matters because the river is home to about 500 saltwater crocodiles, and the approval lands on a course that already has a working life beyond the Games. The Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority said the Fitzroy River Flatwater Facility is already used for school state championships, local regattas and national team training camps, which helps explain why it stayed in contention. But the assessment looked at something narrower: how the course would perform under different conditions, weather patterns, water levels and flood risk at Games time and in the years leading up to them.
World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide both backed the venue. Jean-Christophe Rolland said the Fitzroy River could provide fair competition conditions during the Games, while Thomas Konietzko said the technical work had improved understanding of the field of play and given confidence that the course can deliver fair competition for Canoe Sprint athletes. Andrew Liveris said the endorsement adds certainty as venue planning and Games delivery move forward and keeps future design and operational work focused on Rockhampton.
The missing piece is obvious. The course was endorsed without a crocodile assessment, and that leaves the practical question hanging over every race: what happens if one is spotted on the day. Saltwater crocodiles live in both fresh and salt water and can grow to more than six metres, which is why the approval has drawn so much attention beyond the rowing world. The technical review settled the engineering case; it did not settle the wildlife one.
Drew Ginn, who has raised concerns about flooding, fairness and integrity at the venue, said he has never had a crocodile near him and pointed to the site being six or seven hours from Brisbane. His criticism goes to the heart of the debate: a venue can be good on paper and still leave athletes and organizers carrying risks that were never part of the formal test. For now, the Fitzroy River has the approval, but the next phase will have to turn that approval into a race plan that works in the real river, not just in the report.
