Love rugby league? The Rotorua International Stadium is where all the action is, with a regional nines tournament, kids' activities and the Vodafone Warriors v Penrith Panthers.

Last year it was a head-to-head between New Zealand's top two mountain bikers, and spectators at this year's Mountain Bike National Championships can expect more tough racing.

Rotorua fans meet the rugby league players at the Rotorua Night Markets on Thursday night.

After more than a decade playing for the Melbourne Storm, Ryan Hoffman has become no stranger to playing alongside and against the world's best rugby league players.

Rotorua rider Dirk Peters is enjoying a low profile heading into the Mountain Bike National Championships in Rotorua.

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has had some tough decisions to make ahead of his team's opening match against the Blues.

Running long distances has no appeal to Rotorua's Nicola Muggeridge, but that hasn't stopped her from getting involved in the Tarawera Ultramarathon.

If you have never seen a game of basketball in real life, or you are a fan from way back, you can settle in for two full days of action.

It will pump more than $1 million into the local economy but the spinoffs from the Tarawera Ultramarathon will be far wider with media broadcasting the event around the world.

Sport can be a wonderful way to bring people together, but sometimes a bit more sportsmanship wouldn't go astray, writes Kim Gillespie.

For the first time in three years the Tarawera Ultramarathon looks set to follow its intended course to Kawerau.