Speight's out and Moa in for Coast to Coast

Josh Scott at Moa Brewery in Blenheim.

For the first time in over three decades, competitors in the 2016 Coast to Coast won't be handed a well-earned Speight's after they complete the epic, 243 km multisport course.

Craft brewer Moa has been named as the event's new beer partner following the decision in May by Speight's owner, Lion, to pull out of its naming rights sponsorship, ending a 32-year association with the race.

Moa won't have naming rights, but its beers and ciders will be on hand when competitors cross the finish line in Christchurch in February.

The firm will also operate outdoor bars at the event.

The race, first held in 1983, involves competitors running, kayaking and cycling from Kumara Beach on the South Island's west coast to New Brighton Beach on the east coast.

Alcohol sponsorship is a controversial issue in sport and Coast to Coast director Richard Ussher said the organisers had opted, after Lion's departure, not to grant naming rights to another booze brand.

Given the possibility of an eventual ban on alcohol sponsorship, he said that decision was one way of "future proofing" the event.

Ussher said the Coast to Coast was in negotiations with a new naming rights sponsor, which he couldn't name.

In 2014, the Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Sponsorship made recommendations including a complete ban on sponsorship of sport and advertising around broadcast sporting events.

Ussher, a five-time Coast to Coast winner, said he was comfortable for Moa to be associated with the event, which competitors complete over one or two days.

We see the association as being with people who are going out and doing something healthy, enjoying the outdoors and then sitting down and having a social drink rather than going out on a Friday night, getting blotto and causing unrest around the town.

He declined to discuss the financial details of Moa's sponsorship.

Moa founder Josh Scott, who is gearing up to compete in his seventh Coast to Coast, said he didn't agree with alcohol brands having headline sponsorship of sports events.

"I think there is a place for [sponsorship], but I don't think it should be right in eye view - it should be quietly in behind the scenes," he said. "You don't want to influence the young or give people the wrong impression."

Moa also sponsors the New Zealand Olympic Team, but Scott said the firm's involvement was "low key".

Scott said the Coast to Coast and Moa's brand fitted well together.

"Moa's never been about going and buying a 24-pack and smashing them," he said. "It's about moderation."

Ussher said Lion had pulled out of the sponsorship because the Speight's brand was heading in a "different direction".

"Speight's were a fantastic sponsor for a long time so it's definitely been a tough year," he said. "I think if the event wasn't owned by a company like Trojan, who have got a fair bit of resource behind them, then it could have put the event at risk."

Queenstown-based tourism firm Trojan Holdings acquired the event from founder Robin Judkins in 2013.