Athletics: Hastings club already winners

Maree Murphy, 48, of Napier, who is the team manager of the Hastings Athletics Club contingent for the 2017 North Island Colgate Games in Hastings from today.

The Hastings Athletics Club has already won the numbers game with 100 members competing in the North Island Colgate Games today. "They are kids who just want to have a go for the first time or there are quite a few 14-year-olds for whom it's their last Colgate Games," team manager Maree Murphy said.

The majority of the club's youngsters are 10- to 12-year-olds which, Murphy reckons, puts athletics in a healthy place.

North Harbour Bays have the next biggest contingent at 51 but because of the transtasman meeting in Sydney on January 15 fewer athletes will venture to Hastings.

Napier club and Palmerston North have one fewer in equal third place while Olympic club, from Wellington, is next with 47.

Central Hawke's Bay have 27, Dannevirke 21, Gisborne 19 and Wairoa 18.

Murphy says about a dozen parent helpers for the 1340 athletes will be involved in ensuring the 39th three-day games starting today run smoothly at the HB Regional Sports Park, which last hosted the event in 2011.

Invercargill will host the second leg of the country's supreme National Junior Athletics Championship, for thousands of aspiring athletes between 7 to 14 years, from January 13-15.

"We'll be relying on the older athletes as well to help with the younger ones because some of the parent helpers are quite new to the Colgate Games so it's their first time as well," she says, emphasising the senior children had been involved with the games from the age of 7.

Colgate has sponsored the games since its inception in 1978. It is providing four scholarships named after Colgate Games alumnus and Olympian Nick Willis, worth $500 each to athletes who display outstanding performance.

"Good luck to all the athletes over the three days," says Murphy whose team has a 50-50 split in male and female athletes.