Youth working hard to put on Eastside Amazing Race

Local youth have been working hard to put together the Eastside Amazing Race, an event which will help bring the community closer together.

The young people have been working on the race every Thursday for Term 2 and 3.

It is being held on October 28, 2pm to 4pm.

Those organising the event say they enjoy learning new things and doing something for the community to get involved in.

Things they have learnt include how to get along with people, how to advertise and how to plan an event.

They encourage people to get involved in the Eastside Amazing Race because it will bring the community closer together, and is a great way to get out of the house, meet new people and experience something new.

They say the race's activities are fun and interesting - "we would want to do them as well if we could".

Leigh Richards-Ward, community-led manager of Mokoia Community Association, says this is the first time they have run an event like this, with local youth keen to get involved in the planning.

"Our Eastside communities have given us feedback that they love the community events and would like more of them.

"We thought that working alongside our young people to learn how to run a community event would be a good way of putting these two things together.

She says youth are gaining first-hand experience of what it takes to run an event and build on their existing skills.

The Eastside Amazing Race is open to anyone 12 years and older.

"This is not just for young people. We would love to see some adult participants, as well as family teams, sporting groups or even neighbours getting together to form a team."

It is for two hours, and being an initial one, the pit stops are close together - within a 2km radius of the Eastside Youth Space.

She says it is a great opportunity to get some friends together and do something different for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon.

"It is also a way of supporting a group of our youth who would love to see the outcome of their commitment being a successful event."

It costs $5 per team, with the prize money being $350 for the first team, $200 for the second team and $100 for the third team.

There are also spot prizes for those who do not place in the top three.

The project is being supported by both the Mokoia Community Association and Rotorua Red Cross.