Three legs were cancelled due to treacherous offshore conditions along the Queensland coastline, but the annual Yamaha Variety Jet Trek, which celebrated its finish in Gladstone on Saturday 9 March, still raised $385,139 to support sick, disadvantaged, and special needs children.
Ninety-nine Jet Trekkers gathered at Kingscliff on Sunday 3 March to set off on the seven-day ocean odyssey taking in stops at Brisbane, Noosa, Hervey Bay and Agnes Water before reaching the Harbour City.
Variety Queensland marketing manager Katherine Rowe said despite the inclement weather, spirits remained high.
“We had a great time either way, and we were able to celebrate the $385,000-plus that was raised by these amazing fundraisers as part of this event,” she said.
“We had more than 220 participants because each rider needs a support crew, so it’s actually a real family environment.”
In Gladstone, the Jet Trekkers presented a Variety Heart Scholarship to Harley Stokes to further his dream of being a Para-Olympian and competing at the 2028 Los Angeles games or the 2032 Brisbane games.
Harley, 10, has Achondraplasia, a form of short stature (dwarfism), and along with this he also has narrowing of the cervical cranial junction and bowing of the legs.
He swims competitively as multiclass swimmer under Queensland Swimming with a classification of S6, SB6
This year, Harley has qualified for and is aiming to compete in four state and national-level swimming events this year.
Harley is a remarkable athlete, who was chosen to represent Australia in the 2023 World Dwarf Games held in Cologne, Germany.
He achieved outstanding results, including gold in the 100 Individual Medley, gold in the 25m Butterfly, silver in the 25m Breaststroke, silver in the 25m Freestyle and silver in the 25m relay.
And, on a different day, he even won gold in basketball!
“We want kids to follow their dreams so that’s why we have the Variety Heart Scholarship program,” Ms Rowe said.
The Jet Trekkers had a marquee at the Gladstone marina and Ms Rowe said it was a wonderful setting for their final get-together.
“It was beautiful as the sun went down,” she said.
“These guys had not only been riding all week but they had been fundraising all year, so on that final night we like to get together and celebrate everything they have accomplished – the challenges on the water as well as their hard work in their fundraising.
“We gave out some awards and some scholarships as well and Harley came up on stage and presented a lot of those awards and he also did a speech for us which was just wonderful.
“We just had a big party to be honest, we had a band and we just all caught up, because these people they are from all over Australia and they often only connect once a year on the Jet Trek.
“They’re bonding not only over the shared experience with doing the event, but also about the purpose of the event, which is helping kids in need.”
