Mr GAFFNEY (Mersey) - Mr President, I rise today to speak about an exciting event coming up on 22 to 24 October, that I hold close to my heart - the Cold Climate Classic touch football competition upcoming. The inaugural Cold Climate Classic will be the first of its kind in Australia, offering opportunities for men's, women's and mixed teams touch football from across Australia to compete in Tasmania's beautiful north-west.

The touch football knockout carnival will be wrapped around a food and wine festival to be held in Meercroft Park in Devonport. Acknowledging the impact of lock downs across Australia, it is still anticipated that 400 people will participate in the competition, generating well over $300 000 in economic activity for local businesses.

Sport is an essential part of building community through team work and communication, developing skills and pride that may be carried through to all walks of life. Touch football is the largest social participation sport in the country, with 7000 players in Tasmania and 690 000 thousand players nationally. Touch football is a bit of a family affair for me. I started playing touch football in my early twenties, when my sister Vicky represented Tasmania as state captain. She told me to start playing so that I could join her at national competitions. I then represented Tasmania on several men's teams on a number of occasions. I also represented the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland in the national championships in Coffs Harbour in the Masters Australia division, due to Tasmania not having its own team. I hope to continue the tradition by joining in a game or two at the upcoming competition.

The CEO of Touch Football Australia, Jamie O'Connor, said 'this will be the first touch football competition aimed at mixed gender, which is really important to us; it is at the core of our values and what we do as a sport'. There is no better place to display these values to the rest of Australia than through local events that provide an opportunity for the wider community to get involved. The Cold Climate Classic will be a prime showcase of what the Mersey region has to offer. As well as providing an opportunity for the sporting community to showcase a love for the sport, the Cold Climate Classic is being run in conjunction with the Devonport Food and Wine Festival. Together they aim to bring people together over a common love of touch football and good food.

A three-day program will put the finest food and wine in Tasmania on display, with visitors encouraged to explore and tour the unique scenery of the north-west. Between games, players will be offered the opportunity to explore all that the north-west of Tasmania has to enjoy. The weekend program will be companied by a large market vthat will be open to the public, with plenty of entertainment for adults and games for children. The games at Meercroft Park will be live-streamed onto big screens at the market square, so the public may watch the games as they browse the market stalls and have a wine. The weekend events will close with a finale fiesta and afternoon of more food, wine, bands, performers and art.

After the last 18 months, an opportunity such as this to experience what the Mersey electorate has to offer is a welcome boost to our region. Sporting and community events are powerful platforms to promote our state and the community, culture and activities we have to offer.

Touch Football Tasmania anticipates a three per cent growth of participants each year, with many coming from interstate. The Cold Climate Classic will do more than bring tourists to our town - it will put Devonport on the map for the next three years as the hub of community touch football competition in Australia. It is hoped to generate over $1.4 million dollars in economic impact for the region over the next three years.

Even if state border closures limit players attending from the mainland this year, the Cold Climate Classic will go ahead as an event for all who are able to attend.

I commend Touch Football Australia and Tasmania, the Devonport City Council and Events Tasmania for their significant efforts in making this event possible. Levels of interest and inquiry into attending the event have been excellent so far, and we anticipate many more to attend in competitions to come.

I look forward to seeing it grow over the next three years.