Revamp for Port of Tauranga Half Ironman

After the storm has come some semblance of calm - and Sport Bay of Plenty could hardly have recruited a better candidate to steady its wobbling Half Ironman race.
Auckland event director Jane Patterson has taken over the running of the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman, which for the past 15 years has reigned supreme as Western Bay of Plenty's biggest sporting event.
Patterson is highly respected within triathlon, having taken Taupo's Ironman New Zealand race to international icon status in her six years in charge.
Patterson was headhunted by Sport Bay of Plenty chief executive Dame Susan Devoy after January's 15th Anniversary race was beset by controversy.
Gisborne's Terry Sheldrake was appointed race director, taking over from former Sport Bay of Plenty chief executive Craig Ross.
Ross's dumping promoted threats of an athlete walkout, although entries grew and only former champion Karyn Ballance stayed away.
The biggest brickbat came on the first leg of the bike when the leading four cyclists - Nathan Richmond, Cameron Brown, Stephen Sheldrake and Kieran Doe - completed the first lap to find no turnaround marked out.
A furious Richmond blasted the assembled marshalls and the four improvised a turn in the middle of the road.
The saviour was Tauranga event manager Bruce Trask, who stepped out of the crowd and slipped on a marshall's vest to sort out the situation.
One of Patterson's first jobs as Half Ironman event director has been to appoint Trask as race director.
In what is clearly a strategic move, she has enlisted the support of Triathlon Tauranga, which provide the race management team, with a group of six taking up key roles as race directors.
It is a format that has worked successfully for Patterson at Ironman New Zealand, enabling her to build a strong network of community support.
"Grassroots is everything and I'm not embarrassed to say we're borrowing heavily from some of our Taupo concepts to make the Half Ironman bigger and better," Patterson said.
"My understanding here is that the triathlon club hasn't been involved for the last few years. Any sport is only as strong as its support at club level, which is why I was keen to get Triathlon Tauranga fully involved."
Patterson has watched fromthe footpath at the last six Half Ironman races.
While she's not keen to run down what has gone before, clearly she thinks it needs an overhaul.
"It's a matter of taking the best of what is a well developed race with a good reputation and building on it.
"We want, first and foremost, to put on a strong, safe race with good operational aspects _ things like making sure the distances are right and that the management of the course is in place.
"There's a lot to do to improve on what was done in January and we're realistic about what can be achieved in one year.
"2005 is all about making sure the basics are right but the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman, from what I've seen over the last six years of observing, has far more potential than it is showing.
"It is a significant contributor to the Tauranga economy (estimated at $4 million annually) but my top priority right now is organising a safe and professionally run race that gives triathletes value for money."
Devoy, for her mind, believes she has hit on the right formula - and the right people - to take the Half Ironman to the next level and beyond.
"I made the appointment of Jane Patterson simply because she's the best. This has been a great event for the past 15 years but it needed an injection of a lot of things to make it better and new blood was one of those.
Patterson has enlisted former Bay of Plenty Times sports editor Ian Hepenstall as media manager. Other changes include:
* Full electronic timing for the first time, with a transponder fixed to athletes' ankles. * Full race commentary. * Prizes for the fastest male and female swim, single lap cycle and run lap of Mauao. * New sponsors. As well as Port of Tauranga re-signing as naming rights sponsor, Nike have come on board as run leg sponsor. Other major backers will be announced in the next few weeks. * Creation of an event-specific website, www.halfironman.co.nz, providing all race detail, as well as as coaching page with contributions from Scott Molina and Jenny Rose that will be updated every couple of weeks. * Prizemoney for age-group winners, with the reintroduction of the major prizemoney for the top-five male and female elite competitors.
Patterson is also keen to forge a closer relationship with key stakeholders and sponsors.
"They need to see the benefits of their investment. It's important we work closely with sponsors, particularly the port, because they're contributing significantly to this race and the community."
Patterson wants to work the Ironman NZ angle, promoting the Tauranga Half Ironman internationally, particularly across the Tasman where she doesn't think the January race has fulfilled its potential.
"There's scope to position the Half as part of a package where athletes can stay on and train in Tauranga before Taupo, and there's also potential for this race to evolve like the Noosa Festival has, although perhaps not to the same extent."
The top-end professional triathletes also had to be provided for within budget constraints.
"The professional element in any sport is important and assisting the right athletes to compete is commonplace, although it has got to be commercially viable."
She is confident seven-times winner Cameron Brown will be back, although he won't be approached until after next month's world ironman championships in Hawaii.