Teen runners converge on Rotorua

Start of Junior Girls Race - Waikato Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools, X-Country Champs, A&P Oval, Agrodome Photo credit: Macspeedfoto

Around 1000 students will converge on Rotorua for the New Zealand Secondary School Cross Country championships this weekend.

The annual cross country and inaugural relay championships will take place in Rotorua for the first time in its 43-year history.

The course, laid out over 6km of beautiful farmland at the Agrodome and Ngati Whakaue Tribal lands north of Rotorua will test around than 1000 students from 125 schools around the country.

The stakes are high for the students competing with the top 12 place getters being offered a position to travel with the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletics Association to the Australian Cross Country Championships later this year.

New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletics Association president John Tylden said he was looking forward to seeing the event unfold.

"It really is a great spectacle. The huge numbers of competitors and the ideal course layout will make for truly exciting racing.

"We want to encourage everyone to come along and watch. The course is perfect for spectators, you won't have to go too far to see the whole thing. We have the new relay event on the Sunday which will be really entertaining to watch. There are teams from 15 provinces so it will be an interesting race," he said.

Mr Tylden said he was glad that Rotorua was able to come forward with such a fantastic proposal for the event.

"Rotorua is a great place to host this year's championships. There are so many fun activities around the place for our young competitors and the scenery around the course is beautiful.

"I couldn't think of a better way to spend a weekend."

Anyone can come along and support the event. The racing starts with the cross country events at 10.30am on Saturday and prize giving wrapping up day one at the Energy Events Centre at 4pm. The weekend will continue with the relay champs on Sunday with the girls teams starting 9.30am.

To support the Cross Country Champs and also give Rotorua locals a chance to get active themselves, a community charity relay has been organised to take place in between the girls and boys relay events.

Teams of four, dressed up in their fabulous costumes and armed with their specially made batons will start the 4km course at 10.20am on Sunday. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Te Wairiki Purea Trust for its award winning local youth programmes.

Registrations of $30 per team will be open on the day prior to 10.20am for those keen to join the fun. With 100 people already entered and more than $4000 worth of spot prizes to give away it will be an event you don't want to miss.