Organisers of the Boulia Camel Races said they are spurred on to welcome visitors back to Boulia and the Outback in 2021.
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With travel to many Outback Queensland communities off limits this winter due to COVID-19, Boulia Camel Races may have hit a 'hump' in the road for the 2020 races, but event organiser Rebecka Britton vows they will be open for business in July next year.
"To all the people who were planning to head to Outback Queensland to see us in Boulia this July, we're as disappointed as you are to miss out on 2020," Ms Britton said. "Our town is really going to miss the influx of visitors and we never could have imagined a circumstance where we would close our doors to travellers.
"But this is only a speed hump in our plans."
Ms Britton said they had already set the dates for Boulia Camel Races to return on the weekend of July 16-18, 2021
"By the time Outback Queensland is rolling out the welcome mat for travellers again, our tiny towns will be relieved to see visitors back, but for now we're all in this together and we'll just have to live off our great memories of 2019," she said.
"The coveted Boulia Camel Cup will be waiting ready to be next claimed by a champion in 2021."
Winners of the 2019 Boulia Camel Cup were local camel trainers Dannileah Stewart and Ronnie Callope. Locals tip an extra year may even play to the reigning champion's advantage, given their camels are younger than many others on the circuit and the extra year to mature and train may see this local team return readier than ever meet the visiting camel teams with stiff competition.
"The camel trainers and their crews who normally make the trek out to see us each year are really going to get itchy feet missing out this year," Ms Britton said. "One of our longest supporters, camel trainer and jockey Glenda Sutton, has been making the trek interstate to Boulia for two decades and our four local camel training teams will miss the races as much as our visitors."
The year 2021 was due to be the 25th year of camel racing in Boulia but now that 2020 has been cancelled, the 25th anniversary celebration will be now be pushed back to 2022.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
