Few were more excited by news Launceston would host the 2018 National Inclusion Carnival than Tasmanian captain Alan Dengate.
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After making his state debut in 2014, the 27-year-old will lead his team on home soil for the first time later this year in what will be the first Inclusion Carnival held in Tasmania.
“We’re always going over to Melbourne but now it’s time, we’ve got a good team to play here in front of our home crowd which will be good,” he said.
“My friends have always wanted to come out and watch and now it’s an opportunity for them, plus the guys will feel at home playing in their home state out here at UTAS Stadium, they’re excited and so am I.
“We go pretty reasonable, (although) it’s been a bit tough in the previous years because it’s little Tassie versus the big states.”
Set to be held between June 18 and 23, the event will see the country’s best athletes with an intellectual disability battle it out for state pride on Northern venues including UTAS Stadium.
The carnival’s grand final will be held as a curtain-raiser to an AFL fixture for the first time, with players to run out ahead of Hawthorn’s clash with Gold Coast on June 23.
New Horizons manager Belinda Kitto said the curtain-raiser scheduling was a credit to the Hawthorn Football Club.
“That’s never happened before in an inclusion carnival so that’s a big win for us to be able to to be the first state to be able to to showcase the abilities of our players to the community,” Kitto said.
“(The players) are beyond excited, they’re so excited that they can finally be in front of their home crowd.
“A few families have been able to travel to watch them before but a lot have never seen them play at this level, so it’s going to be amazing.”
The carnival comes as the first fruits from the ‘cool season’ events scheme, a project orchestrated by a group of organisations including Launceston City Council and Tourism Northern Tasmania aiming to bring major sporting events to Launceston during the colder months.
TNT chief executive Chris Griffin said the partnership had plenty more bids in the works.
“This is the first bid we’ve won in the cool season event partnership,” he said.
“We’re looking to grow those wins and events to four or five a year, so this is good news that this partnership is showing early wins only three months in.”
A handful of other states put in bids to host the carnival before it was eventually awarded to Launceston.
New South Wales-ACT Rams are the reigning champions after defeating Vic Metro in the 2017 grand final.