Tauranga's Pokémon craze continues

The Pokémon craze gripping the Bay has so far not resulted in any casualties but it is turning educational campuses into battlefields.

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Maori facilitator wiremu te kanawa said the campus was a hot spot for pokémon trainers.

"The thing that is going to make it a distraction for our students is that there are two gyms [places where people can take their pokémon to fight or train on the app] on campus and they are within 150m of each other.

"The other thing that is making our campus a place where i think a lot of people will come is there are seven different Pokestops [a location, usually a land mark or of cultural significance where players can receive objects on the app such as pokeballs] as well within a 250m radius. It takes about 4 minutes to walk through one, to all seven of them."

He thought the close proximity of gyms and Pokestops would be a distraction for students.

"It definitely will be, people will be playing it in their breaks... with the amount of people on campus with smart phones, it will definitely be a distraction in regards to people coming late to class," he said.

"I think tutors might have to have a word with their students."

However he thought it would be a good tool for students to socialise.

"It'll be good to see students mixing and talking to each other about what Pokémon they have, or might even bridge some gaps and make some friends."

Mr Te Kanawa thought there could be the possibility for injuries to distracted players.

"They're going to be walking around with their phones out... So a bit of danger of walking into things."

However, head of western Bay of Plenty road policing senior sergeant Ian Campion said he had not had any reports of any incidents in the bay involving pokémon.

The police media team released a statement on the Pokémon Go app, which said they encouraged users to remember their personal safety and that of others.

"Like anything, we would remind people to be aware of their surroundings, and be wary of visiting unfamiliar locations, or going onto private property in search of a cartoon character."

"Anyone that uses their phone whilst driving is putting themselves and other road users at risk, as is any pedestrian engrossed on a phone crossing the road."

Pokémon Go - BOP creator Caymen Beeby said about 70 people attended a meet up in memorial park last monday.

"With more coming and going all night. It was an amazing sight to see," he said.

From phones to skateboards

Tauranga artist Katie Harris was looking to expand the interest on the Pokémon craze to paint characters onto skateboards.

"I just started painting boards as it was a way to grow business, I got the idea from myself painting one of my guitars and it coming out quite cool, so I decided a similar wood is used on skate decks!"

It would usually take Katie between four to ten hours to complete the Pokémon creations on the skateboards, in between the time when she is playing on the Pokémon Go app herself.

tauranga hot spots

Our reporter Anna Whyte checked out some of the other popular Pokestops in the Bay, including the Strand, Memorial Park and the Historic Village.