Cyclone Vaianu has caused sporting events around the North Island to be rescheduled, including the Football Ferns World Cup qualifier against Fiji and the Taupō Supercars event.
The storm is expected to make landfall on Sunday and MetService has warned of a “threat to life from flying items and falling trees” as the cyclone approaches, while those in the Coromandel and on Great Barrier Island have been advised to stay inside and avoid travel.
Supercars organisers have announced changes to the track schedule for their event in Taupō as a result of the weather forecast.
“Saturday’s second race has been extended to 200km,” a statement by the organisers read.
“All Saturday race sessions will be moved forward by 30 minutes.
“The 120km Race 8 will start at 12.20pm NZST. The 200km Race 9 will begin at 3.30pm NZST.
“Only the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout will be lost from the programme.
“Race 10 of the Repco Supercars Championship has been tentatively rescheduled for 9.45am NZST on Sunday, a move in line with latest weather forecasts.”
Sunday-only general admission ticket holders have been invited to use their tickets on Saturday and Sunday, while Sunday pit walk ticket holders were invited to also attend the Saturday pit walk.
“We have worked very carefully with local authorities to ensure the utmost safety for our fans, teams and all stakeholders throughout recent days,” Supercars chair and interim chief executive Barclay Nettlefold said.
“While we certainly hope to run the event in full, safety and responsibility are absolutely critical.
“Supercars will continue monitoring the situation with great caution over the coming days.”
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) asked anyone attending the event to plan journeys carefully and expect high traffic volume.
“People travelling on State Highways 1 and 5 through the central North Island should expect delays as they approach Taupō, and plan accordingly,” Andrew Brosnan, the NZTA journey manager for Waikato, said.
The Football Ferns have also had their World Cup qualifier against Fiji at FMG Stadium in Hamilton brought forward a day, a statement from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) said.
“Due to severe weather warnings in place for Hamilton on Sunday, April 12, caused by Cyclone Vaianu, the semi-finals of Round 3 of the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2027 Oceania Qualifiers have been rescheduled to Saturday, April 11,” the statement read.
Papua New Guinea v American Samoa will kick off at 12pm on Saturday, while the Football Ferns match against Fiji starts at 4pm.
“Spectators are encouraged to be mindful of the changing weather conditions and to take extra care when travelling to the matches.”
The OFC statement said entry to the event is now free and any tickets purchased will be refunded.
Elsewhere, the Waterfront Half Marathon in Auckland has been postponed because of the cyclone.
A statement from the organisers said the event will now take place on April 19 and they felt it wasn’t “tenable or responsible to proceed” with it, with the “safety of everyone involved” being paramount.
Elsewhere, the Gisborne Speedway club postponed its final meeting of the season, with races having been scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings.