Athletes from nine schools from the region will do battle at the annual Whanganui Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships at Cooks Gardens on Wednesday.
The five Whanganui metropolitan secondary schools will be joined by the four schools from the region (Ruapehu College, Taihape Area School, Rangitikei College and Nga Tawa) at the event.
Although entries are down on last year (291 athletes) Whanganui High School (82) and Wanganui Collegiate (92) have the largest entries from the nine schools with well over 50 percent of the total.
Field action starts with the javelin at 12.45pm and track action commencing at 2pm. The evening session starts at 5.15pm with all track finals except the girls 3000 metres and sprint hurdles which are in the afternoon session. The popular evening session culminates in the relays at 7.25pm and the final 4x400m relay at 7.55pm.
The resurgence of the sport at Whanganui High School with large numbers training and attending club nights will mean closer competition with Wanganui Collegiate, who in the past years have won over 60 percent of the titles. Results from other schools in the region also suggests close competition in many events.