Duck race at The Strand to raise funds for Tauranga charities

Tauranga Te Papa Rotary Club is holding a charity duck race on Sunday says organiser Brett Bell-Booth. Photo/Andrew Warner.

Tauranga's The Strand will be home to a different kind of bird this weekend when a flock of toy ducks take to the water on Sunday.

The charity event, organised by the Tauranga Te Papa Rotary Club, will see 1500 rubber ducks race each other on an outgoing tidal flow.

Hopefully the club could raise $15,000 for four different charities, organiser Brett Bell-Booth said. The race followed similar events organised by Rotary clubs around the country.

"We decided it would be an ideal opportunity to utilise the new steps down at the waterfront and have a crack at organising [our own] duck race," Bell-Booth said.

The track is 400m long and will feature two races. The main flock would battle it out on the water for the top prize of $1000 while 50 larger ducks, bought by local businesses for $200 each, would take to the water first.

The money raised would be given to the Waipuna Hospice and three surf clubs, Mount Maunganui, Omanu and Papamoa.

Mr Bell-Booth believed the surf clubs were a good match for the fundraiser because of their connection to the water.

On the day, special measures would be taken to make sure none of the ducks went astray.

"There'll be IRBs and surf skis which are going to help run the event," Mr Bell-Booth said.

Mount Maunganui Surf Club general manager Glenn Bradley said the club was excited to be one of the chosen beneficiaries.

"The funds raised will significantly help us with our ability to get out there and save some lives over summer," Bradley said. "It's a great event for the community so hopefully there's really good support towards it."

A bad forecast would ruffle some feathers on the day but Bell-Booth was optimistic that things would go ahead as planned.

"We had a trial run with a few ducks a couple of weeks ago just to test it out [and] it should be fine," Bell-Booth said. "The weather looks pretty good."

Want to buy a duck?
Small ducks for the main race can be bought on Sunday for $5 each and cash prizes will be given for first, second and third place.
The first race starts at 10.30am at The Strand.