Wet weather forces Crankworx postponement

Staff and volunteers were busy trying to keep the track dry at Crankworx today. PHOTO/ STEPHEN PARKER

Crankworx organisers were forced to postpone the festival's marquee event after several hours of rain delays today.

Despite the rain, thousands turned out to watch what is usually one of the most popular events on the festival calendar.

There were umbrellas and jackets aplenty, and more than a few near slips as the rain turned the grass around the course edge into mud.

About 0.8mm of rain had fallen throughout the day, according to MetService. The wet weather was expected to continue through to Sunday, with heavy falls expected late morning.

Coffee and hot chips were in high demand, although a few brave souls clearly not feeling the cold were spotted happily tucking into their ice creams.

The merchandise tents were jam packed for much of the morning and early afternoon as punters sought shelter and browsed for bargains while waiting for the Slopestyle event to begin.

Pia Roemer had made the trip from Whakatane for the event.

She said the event had been good so far, and she was looking forward to things getting under way despite the rain.

It was initially hoped the event would kick off between 10am and 12 noon, but persistent rain throughout the day meant the event could not run.

The riders were clearly raring to go, making their way up to the top of the course for a practice run as soon as the sun appeared mid-afternoon.

Their appearance drew huge cheers from the crowd, many of who had spent several hours waiting for things to get under way.

They managed to get in a few practice runs before the rain started to come down again shortly before 4pm.

The Slopestyle event in Rotorua has extra significance compared to most events.

New Zealand's grand master of the discipline, Kelly McGarry, and his building partner, Tom Hey, designed and built one of the best slopestyle courses in the world before McGarry died in 2016.

The event was renamed in his honour.