An annual charity fundraiser pitting participants against the notorious Balfour Street hill has been cancelled.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Balfour Burn, which raises money for disability support service St Giles, attracted about 800 people for the 400 metre hill climb when it first ran four years ago.
But numbers had dwindled to 100 participants in 2015 and 200 participants last year.
St Giles general manager Danielle Blewett, who runs the event, said it was disappointing the event could not go ahead, but the October event had to be cancelled.
“We can’t afford to run it with less than 500 participants,” Mrs Blewett said.
“We feel it might be too much of a challenge to get the number of participants necessary to make the event financially viable.”
It cost $7000 to run the event, and 500 participants enabled St Giles to fundraise an additional $10,000 for its disability support services.
St Giles offers community-based support to meet the current need of individuals, as well as accommodation for people living with a disability and respite service.
But hope is not lost for future Balfour Burn events.
If more groups were to get involved in the hill climb, Mrs Blewett hoped Balfour Burn would be back next year.
The future of the event was dependent on how many people signed up and paid their $20 registration fee, she said.
Running is not compulsory, with many families, cyclists, pram pushers and strollers taking part in previous events.
There had been several sponsors ready to support the event, but it was still not possible to face low participation numbers, she said.
Launceston City Mayor Albert van Zetten said, “We share St Giles' disappointment they won't be proceeding with the Balfour Burn in 2017, as this has been a fun event for a great cause.”
The City of Launceston offered an event sponsorship program allowing event organisers to apply for council support for events held in Launceston, van Zetten said.
"Last year the City of Launceston sponsored 36 events worth $365,000, and no doubt St Giles will explore this option when considering the event's future beyond 2017."
The news was posted in the Balfour Burn Launceston social media page on Tuesday, with members of the community sharing their disappointment about the cancellation.
In a comment on the Facebook post, Sam Snare said, “It’s a shame there isn’t a business out there that can’t chip-in and sponsor this awesome event”.