Nine from Gisborne club competing at Colgate Games

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

ATHLETICS

NINE athletes from Gisborne Athletic Club are competing at the Colgate Games in Hamilton this weekend, and one will carry on to the South Island event the following weekend.

Jack Sadler won two bronze medals in sprint events at last year’s North Island event, and this year plans to compete in both the North and South island editions of the Games.

The southern event takes place at the Caledonian Ground in Dunedin from January 11 to 13.

Nearly 1400 New Zealand athletes aged from nine to 14 are taking their marks at the Porritt Athletics Stadium in Hamilton from today for New Zealand’s junior athletics championships — the Colgate Games.

This year, 88 clubs from across the North and South islands have enrolled teams for the North Island event — with Hamilton’s Fairfield Athletic Club signing up the most participants, 67.

Colgate Games North Island chairwoman Sandra Murray says the Colgate Games are the highlight of the junior athletics calendar and young athletes have been training hard all summer.

“We have 5532 individual event entries this year, with long jump being the most popular event, followed by the 100 metres.

“The Colgate Games have been a rite of passage for young athletes for 41 years — it’s a summer tradition passed down over three generations.

“Hamilton last hosted the Colgate Games in 2006. Thirteen years on, the Games are still a highlight for thousands of Kiwi families.”

The North Island Colgate Games are being held from today to Sunday.

The sponsorship of the Games by Colgate was established in 1978, making it one of the longest continuous sports sponsorships in New Zealand.

The Colgate Games will continue in Dunedin from January 11, with close to 900 participants from 64 clubs.

Colgate and Athletics New Zealand have provided eight scholarships worth $700 each for athletes who display outstanding performances.

The eight scholarships — four awarded each in the North and South islands – are named after Colgate Games alumnus and two-time Olympic medallist Nick Willis. The funds will go towards helping the winning athletes achieve their sporting goals.