Sir Colin Meads will join adventurer Shaun Quincey as a speaker at Saturday's Mount Maunganui Surf Club fundraiser.Photo/File
One's an All Black legend, whose rugby travels have taken him all over the globe, while the other is a Kiwi adventurer who once rowed solo across the Tasman.
Now Sir Colin Meads and Shaun Quincey are joining forces to send an 11-strong team of Mount Maunganui surf lifeguards on
their own journey halfway around the world. The pair are guest speakers at a fundraising dinner at the Mount Maunganui Surf Club this Saturday, helping a Mount team attend the Rescue 2014 world championships in France in September.
Organiser Kendall Elliott said it was a coup to get two such well-known New Zealanders. "Even 43 years after retiring, Sir Colin has an amazing following in New Zealand rugby and Shaun has an incredible story to tell, of which rowing across the Tasman is only a small part," Elliott said.
The Mount squad includes Elliott, New Zealand team member Andrew Newton, former world beach sprint champion Holly Moczydlowski, teenage sprint star Olivia Eaton, Arna Wright, Hamish Treanor, Sam and Brooke Shergold and Adam Simpson. Masters athletes Dani Shepherd and Garry King, fresh from their success at the Eastern Region Awards evening last weekend, will also compete in the over-30 division in France. This year's world championships will be help at Montpellier on France's Mediterranean coast, which presents its own challenges. "Training over winter in the Bay of Plenty certainly presents its own challenges - last week's weather was a prime example," Elliott said. "But while it won't give us much of a climate advantage once we get to France, at least it will make us one of the more resilient squads competing at worlds."
Tickets for Saturday's gala dinner are $100 each or $850 for a table of 10. Dress is formal, while tickets can be purchased by contacting Kendall Elliott on kendall-elliott@hotmail.com or by visiting http://bit.ly/1wjbFam.
