Welcome to the Spring 2026 edition of The Sports House Bulletin, the newsletter for Varsity Lakes Community Limited and Sports House at Varsity Lakes.

As the weather warms up and our lake comes alive with activity, there has never been a better time to connect with your community. Sports House continues to be a hub for water sports, wellness, corporate events, and community gatherings — bringing together over 110,000 visitors each year on the shores of Lake Orr.

In this edition you'll find details on our upcoming events including the VLCL Robina Varsity Golf Day, the Men Matter wellbeing event, and a breathwork session to reset your capacity. We also feature our regular activities, the water sports clubs that call Sports House home, our valued tenants, and information on hiring our meeting spaces.

Our mission at VLCL is simple: Ensuring Community Prosperity. We hope this newsletter helps you stay connected with everything happening at Sports House this season.

A community event focused on men's wellbeing — bringing people together for an honest, supportive conversation about mental and physical health.

Start your day with a guided breathwork wellness session designed to help you reset, recharge, and build resilience. A powerful morning practice at Sports House.

A one-day conference encouraging parents — featuring speakers, workshops and more! Explore hot topics including Managing Anxiety, Safe Tech Spaces, and The Importance of Self-Care. Proudly supported by the City of Gold Coast.

Our major fundraising and community event of the year. Join 180 players and sponsors for a great day of golf, networking, and giving back to the community.

The Pan Pacific Masters Games 2026 is coming to the Gold Coast, and dragon boat racing will be hosted right here on Lake Orr at the Gold Coast Dragon Boat Club precinct — Sports House, Varsity Lakes. Teams from across Australia and the Pacific will compete in 200m, 500m and Round the Island races on our home water.

Dragon boat teams from across the Pan Pacific region will descend on Lake Orr for an exciting program of 200m sprint races, 500m races, and the Round the Island challenge. Spectators are welcome — come down to Sports House and cheer on the teams from the shoreline.

Crystal Bowl Sound Bath sessions also available. Find your serenity at Sports House and let the sound restore your balance.

Sports House is home to over 18 clubs and organisations. Here are some of the water sports clubs that train and compete on Lake Orr.

A proud paddling club based at Sports House, offering programs for all skill levels on Lake Orr. With a strong focus on community participation, fitness and fun on the water, Currumbin Creek Paddlers welcome paddlers from juniors through to experienced competitors. Whether you're picking up a paddle for the first time or chasing your next race, you'll find a welcoming and supportive group ready to get you on the water.

Established 1991, competing at local, national and international levels.

Founded 2004, based at Sports House since 2009. Rowing for competition, fitness, and health.

Formed 1989, affiliated with Queensland & Australian Canoeing Associations. Members from juniors (12yrs) to 70+ years.

An inclusive community empowering youth through rowing.

Olympic & Paralympic high-performance training on Lake Orr. Home to world championship and Olympic athletes. Active licensee through 2029.

Looking for a professional space with a view? Our meeting rooms overlook Lake Orr and are perfect for corporate events, workshops, and community gatherings.

Bond University  •  Varsity College + P&C  •  Sports Gold Coast

Proudly working together to support community sport and recreation on the Gold Coast.

Construction on Varsity Lakes' first residential village began in December 1999, carved from a neglected former pine plantation. Few imagined the sophisticated, cosmopolitan community that would emerge from those bulldozed roads.

In just 12 short years, Varsity Lakes became a model urban community, setting new standards in masterplanned development. The vision was driven by Delfin Lend Lease under the leadership of Carl Bruhn, whose team reimagined the site as a place where people could live, work, learn, and play — not just a residential address, but a dynamic hub for commerce, technology, and community life.

The master plan prioritised expansive open spaces, endless waterfront boardwalks, and unparalleled education facilities — creating a place where residents feel a genuine sense of belonging. It is a story of innovation, persistence, and hard work that deserves to be told.

Sports House itself was established in 2011 as a $4.5 million initiative by Delfin Lend Lease in partnership with Gold Coast City Council — a lasting community legacy born from the same visionary approach that built Varsity Lakes itself.

For more than 15 years, Sports House has been delivering community, sporting, social and economic value from the shores of Lake Orr.

What began as an innovative approach to managing a Council-owned community asset has grown into a thriving hub bringing together grassroots sport, elite and para athletes, community organisations, businesses, families and major events.

Today, more than 18 clubs and organisations call Sports House home, including Paddle Australia’s national office.

And importantly, the case for the future of Sports House is not based on what might happen.

It is built on more than 15 years of demonstrated success.

Every week, Sports House brings people together.

Children experience sport for the first time. Beginners become lifelong participants. Community paddlers train alongside elite and para athletes. Families participate in free community activities, while local clubs provide pathways from introductory programs through to high-performance sport.

Our weekly parkrun alone attracts more than 10,000 attendances every year, providing a free and accessible activity for people of virtually every age and ability.

Across the wider Sports House community, current analysis indicates more than 130,000 community touchpoints each year — with that number continuing to grow as additional programs and stakeholder activities are captured.

That means thousands of people connecting with sport, recreation, health, community and each other through one community facility.

Sports House has also become much more than a sporting facility.

Over more than a decade, VLCL has delivered and supported major community events attracting thousands of people at a time, including Symphony by the Lake, the Varsity Street Festival, Winterfest, the World Food & Entertainment Festival and Varsity Against Violence.

Business forums, community and corporate golf days and an expanding calendar of community initiatives continue that tradition today.

The result is a facility that doesn’t simply accommodate organisations.

It creates community.

The community benefit generated through Sports House extends well beyond participation.

Over recent years, VLCL has provided more than $240,000 in rental support by making space available to clubs and community organisations below equivalent commercial rates.

Over 15 years, VLCL’s volunteer Non-Executive Directors have also contributed professional governance and expertise representing an estimated hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional community value.

This support allows organisations to invest more of their resources where they matter most — into people, programs and participation.

Inclusivity is embedded in the Sports House model.

Disability programs operate throughout the week, supported by accessible facilities including direct pontoon access to the water.

Elite and para athletes train from the same precinct as grassroots participants, while organisations such as Motherhood Village extend the facility’s community impact beyond sport by providing services including perinatal mental-health peer support for local families.

From first-time participants to Australian athletes, Sports House creates a place where everyone can belong.

VLCL has successfully secured almost $500,000 in grants and external project funding since Sports House was established.

That includes significant government investment that helped establish the facility and subsequent funding that has supported community programs, infrastructure and events.

Rather than relying solely on Council funding, the Sports House model has demonstrated an ability to attract external investment and multiply the community value generated from the site.

Perhaps one of the strongest features of Sports House is its financial model.

Over the past nine years alone, the facility has generated more than $2 million in income, with annual income growing by more than 50% over that period.

Commercial tenancy helps fund community objectives and maintain the facility while supporting affordable access for sporting and community organisations.

And it has been achieved without relying on poker machines, alcohol sales or café operations.

It is a simple but powerful model:

Commercial sustainability supporting community outcomes.

Sports House has already demonstrated what is possible when Council infrastructure, professional community governance, commercial discipline and community purpose come together.

And behind those numbers are thousands of Gold Coast residents participating in sport, accessing community services, attending events, volunteering and connecting with their community.

The opportunity now is not to reinvent Sports House.

It is to build on what already works.

Sports House provides a clear example of how a proven community model can be expanded to deliver even greater impact — strengthening grassroots participation, creating new opportunities for disability and para sport, supporting high-performance pathways, bringing Australian paddling together, and creating new community, health, commercial and event spaces.

With the Gold Coast entering another significant period of sporting, community and infrastructure development, the time is right to consider what comes next.

Sports House and Varsity Lakes Community Limited have the potential to build on their established foundations and move confidently into the next chapter — creating broader sporting and community opportunities that can deliver lasting benefits for local sport, the wider community and the Gold Coast.

www.sportshouse.com.au

Kind Regards,

Nic