Centennial Marine Drive sand track relocated

SAND AND DELIVER: Waikanae's Casie Fyall beats Whangamata's Madison Kidd in the final of the open women's beach flags at the national surf lifesaving champs in Gisborne in 2020. This track has been removed and a new one is being built around the corner alongside Stanley Road. Its first competitive event will be the Gisborne senior surf lifesaving champs in January. Gisborne Herald file picture

The multipurpose sand track removed from Centennial Marine Drive to make way for the new Kiwa Pools is being re-established at a nearby location.

The big “sand pit” was used for events at surf lifesaving carnivals, as well as beach netball and beach volleyball competitions. In recent years it was the venue for the Gisborne Wainui Lions Club's annual beach dig fundraiser.

Construction of a new sand track started this week on the grass area next to the Olympic Pool Complex alongside the stretch of Stanley Road between Awapuni Road and Centennial Marine Drive.

The original track was built around 2005.

Surf Life Saving NZ Tairawhiti club development officer Sonia Keepa contributed to the track's design.

Maintaining the legacy of the country's only sand track was important for the region, she said.

“It's the only one of its kind in the country and we wanted to ensure this iconic sports resource continued to be available for everyone.

“Our surf lifesaving athletes look forward to training on the new track from the start of their season in November.”

The first competitive action on the track will be the Gisborne senior surf lifesaving championships in January 2022.

Council Kiwa Pools project manager Corin Heath said construction of the new sand track was always factored in.

“We included it early in the construction phase to ensure Gisborne had the track for summer training.”

The new track will be 12 metres long and 14.4m wide, allowing for eight running lanes.

Recycled sand, free of organic material from the original sand track, will be used for the 400-millimetre deep sand bed.

The track is being built by Gisborne construction company Siteworx.

“Initial ground preparation required the removal of two Pohutukawa trees from the area,” Mr Heath said.

“The council will carry out replacement planting next year.”

ProTraffic is managing traffic around the area during the expected three weeks of construction.