$40k boost for Pugh track

News that Trust House has granted $40,000 towards the construction of an all-weather athletics track at the Pugh Sportsbowl in Masterton has been described as a "giant step" towards the raising of the $776,000 required for the facility to become a reality.
Wairarapa Regional All-Weather Track Trust (WRATT) chairman Jonathan Hooker and trustee Mark Harris said it was not only the actual money which made the Trust House support so crucial but the fact an organisation of its significance was prepared to back the all-weather track proposal.
"Everybody knows the importance Trust House has in the community and having it on board is a giant step forward for us," Hooker said.
"It gives the whole fund raising situation a major boost, it's just what we needed to push things along."
The Trust House grant brings the money to hand for the all-weather track to $503,000 which includes $300,000 from the Masterton District Council, $25,000 from the Carterton District Council, $50,000 from the Pelorus Trust and several thousand dollars from various other donations and the sale of advertising signs.
There is also the prospect of receiving another $25,000 in pledges which have yet to be honoured while the WRATT are in the process of applying for grants from the Prime Community Trust, and the New Zealand Community Trust and will also making further applications to Trust House and the Pelorus Trust in their new financial years.
Other good news for WRATT is confirmation from the German-based company which will supply the track's blue-coloured rubber surface that it was now available for $315,000, $150,000 less than it was initially budgeted for.
Harris said the company concerned was keen to establish a "very significant" presence in New Zealand and Australia and was planning to use the Masterton track as an important leverage in that regard.
No date has yet been set for when the construction of the all-weather track will commence but Hooker and Harris expressed confidence it will happen next summer. It will be an eight-lane track built to IAAF specifications and will take between 12 to 16 weeks to complete. Plans also include the building of a surrounding fence and the provision of top quality amenities for field events, including high, long and triple jumps, pole vault, discus, shot put and javelin. The all-weather track should mean Masterton hosting several of the country's major track and field meets, among them the national and North Island secondary schools championships and the North Island Colgate Games.
Hooker and Harris are confident too that usage from local people will be strong, with Hooker emphasising it would be open at all times and be free of charge.
"We have said all along that it will be available for anyone who wishes to use it, and there is no way we will be changing anything in that regard."