Duck race back bigger than before

CLOSE to 2,000 plastic ducks will be thrown off the Barwon Heads Footbridge this Easter Saturday for the fourth annual Great Barwon River Duck Race.

Hosted each year over the Easter weekend by the Rotary Club of Ocean Grove, the community event raises funds for local charities and primary schools on the southern Bellarine in need of financial donations.

Residents, both adults and children, can purchase a duck for $10 to enter the race, and businesses can purchase a corporate duck for $200.

Event organiser and rotary member Heather Willson said this year’s duck race will be the biggest to date after selling out the event in each of the past three years.

“It’s a year of firsts in 2024; it will also be the first time we run the event in three races, with a Corporate Race beginning at 1pm on the day, the Kiddies Race starting shortly after at 1.15pm, and the Main Race beginning at 1.30pm,” Ms Willson said.

“We have over 30 prizes up for grabs in total for placegetters, totalling over $2,500 thanks to our sponsors on the day.

“[Last year] we only had 1,500 ducks available, but this year we have 2,000 ducks available and that excludes the children’s ducks and corporate ducks.

“We don’t know if we’ll sell out this year, but each year has exceeded expectations to this point.”

Participants can also indicate support for a local primary school when purchasing a ticket, meaning one dollar from that ticket will be sent to the indicated school.

Rotary Club of Ocean Grove president Lynne Carlson says the club is proud to host the race each year.

“It’s such a great initiative to be a part of and it has just continued to grow,” Ms Carlson said.

“We’re extremely grateful as well to have Ocean Grove Real Estate back on board as a major sponsor of this event.

“They have helped bring this event to life and in turn we, as a rotary club, can do what we do best: help the community in any way we can.”

If tickets are not sold out ahead of next Saturday, registrations will remain open until 10 minutes before the start of the Main Race.

For more information on this year’s Great Barwon River Duck Race, click HERE.