While the incessant rain throughout the first half of this year has been a headache for most land-based sports, it has been a blessing to the Moree Water Ski Club.
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Earlier this month, the club announced that it would host the final Australian Formula Powerboat Grand Prix event of the season on the weekend of July 23 and 24.
With roughly 13 crews and subsequent entourages of around 300 people in total expected to take part in the event, MWSC president, Stuart Hall, expects the GP to be unmissable for "anyone that enjoys high-speed racing and adrenaline".
It is the first time the Moree club has hosted the Australian Powerboats, and the opportunity came about quite by chance, Hall said.
"One of our club members has a bit to do with powerboat racing, and he approached these guys [about the possibility of holding an event in Moree]," he said.
"They came up at Easter, had a look at the lakes we've got here, and said they're willing to bring the final round of the season up."
The first event, Hall hopes, will not be the last, and this is a sentiment which is shared by the AFPGP committee.
"Speaking with the president of their association, they are really keen to make it an annual event," he said.
"But that's going to come down to ... how good a show we can put on."
Across three lakes at the Moree Water Park, there will be a spate of entertainment to accompany the powerboats.
The MWSC will have a bar, various food vendors, "hopefully" rides and jumping castles for kids with waterskiing, wakeboarding, and jetski displays on the adjacent lakes.
While the full schedule of entertainment is still in the works, Hall is confident the spectacle will draw strong crowds.
"I think it's going to be something great," he said.
"We had the waterski nationals out here at the lakes several years ago, and we got a massive response from the town. We had thousands come out over the weekend to look at that.
"So we're hoping we'll get between 500 and 700 spectators a day, and if the weather's nice, I think we should easily get that."
The MWSC is still looking for sponsors to help support the event. For more information, go to the club's Facebook page or visit its website.
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