Spectators watch the 2013 Cooks Gardens Classic. PHOTOS/FILE
It is so easy to take assets for granted. At Cooks Gardens we have a truly world-class facility and so lucky that it's right in the centre of the city.
The all-weather athletics track, resurfaced only three years ago, is an excellent competition and training venue.
This is not the case for many facilities both in New Zealand and world-wide.
Many tracks have outstanding grandstands for spectators, but the nature of the large stadium does not make it a training venue.
Other tracks, in New Zealand and overseas, are outstanding training venues and, in fact, in some countries the tracks have been built for that sole purpose.
In Wanganui, we have a facility that is excellent for both training and competition.
For training, equipment is close at hand and the nature of the track, marked for sprinting on both sides, means that athletes have the benefit of tail winds when required in training.
The horizontal run-ups are three lanes wide and lends itself to group training. Above all, its central nature makes the venue one that can be reached easily by all athletes.
The grand-stands on both sides and the closeness to the action makes Cooks Gardens a special place for major competition, and unlike other venues that have moved from the era of grass tracks, Cooks Gardens has lost none of its special atmosphere for major events.
Next year the New Zealand Schools Championships will go to Timaru.
They, too, have an excellent training track and a good facility. However, the grandstand seats 450 only (I know because I counted the seats last time I was in Timaru).
Palmerston North has an all-weather facility out at Massey University which likewise is an excellent facility for training.
Unfortunately the facility has no grandstands and just one small area of cover which makes it unsuitable for major competitions that go over 2-3 days.
The summer season is almost upon us and already athletes are in training.
The first athletics competition at Cooks Gardens will be the opening night for senior competition on Tuesday, October 14, with special opening night events based on the C programme.
Club nights follow on consecutive Tuesdays, alternating between the three main programmes.
C Programme has the odd distance events - 60m, 150m, 300m, and the popular short 2km road race.
The B programme has 200m, 800m, and 3000m on the track. The A programme has 100m, 400m and 1500m.
Field events are spread through each of the meetings on the same rotation with a jump and a throw on each programme.
The full schedule is published on the Athletics Wanganui website at www.athleticswanganui.co.nz, and timed programmes also appear on the website for the week and the week ahead.
There is facility to request additional events, but eight days notice is required for this.
Cooks Gardens hosts the largest athletics meeting in New Zealand with the NZ Secondary Schools Championships on December 6-7.
In the following month, the Cooks Classic returns to Wanganui on Tuesday, January 20, followed by the Masters Games in early February.
The track is also used by a large group of primary and intermediate schools through November and early December, with the secondary schools events from mid-February to mid-March, culminating in the Wanganui Secondary Schools on Wednesday, March 11.
In the summer months there will probably be in excess of 50 days of competition at the venue.
In between these will be many more training sessions at the venue preparing for local, regional and international competition.
Cooks Gardens plays a vital role for these athletes.
The season is almost upon us and hopefully many of the younger athletes will grasp the opportunities that NZ Schools Championships provide in their home town while others will realise the huge asset we have on our doorstep.