More the merrier for big job

Student volunteer co-ordinator Aria Sherwin (right) puts (from left) Richmond Wells, Alex Bolt, Lilli Hammond and Casey Lithgow through their paces ahead of the big day in two weeks. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

THE logistics are huge and volunteers will play a major role in the success of the 2015 New Zealand Secondary Schools Track and Field and Road Race Championships hosted by Wanganui next month.

The event is run under the auspices of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletics Association (NSSAA) although it is tradition the host city provide the hands-on volunteers.

The call went out for additional volunteers in September and the response was solid, but Wanganui convenor Alec McNab said more were needed to help out at the two-day event on December 6 and 7 at Cooks Gardens.

"At the close of entries for the championships we had 1422 athletes from 209 secondary schools nationwide with teams also arriving from Tonga and the Cook Islands,' McNab said yesterday.

"So the logistics are huge. We have around 60 volunteers coming from outside Wanganui and a large group of students from two Wanganui schools have put their hands up. We will need at least 96 school volunteers to operate in two shifts over the two days.

"We still need more though. Volunteers doing jobs like checking gate passes, manning carparks and other tasks not necessarily athletics-related help reduce costs. If we were to pay people to do these jobs the costs would spiral," McNab said.

While 1422 registered athletes was a solid number and made it perhaps the largest championship outside Hamilton, Mcnab said he was slightly disappointed with local entries.

"Hamilton traditionally has the largest numbers for this event mainly because the Waikato has the largest number of secondary schools in the country and it is so close to big centres like Auckland. Cost is always a major factor for athletes travelling to the championships and I dare say if it was held in Timaru, the numbers would be a lot lower.

"We have 10 secondary schools in the wider Wanganui region, but it's a little disappointing some have only fielded a couple of athletes."

Wanganui Collegiate School heads the list with 64 entries, while Wanganui High School has nine, Nga Tawa two, Rangitikei one, Wanganui Girls College three and City College five.

"Secondary school competition is tough, but we have several individuals and teams of national class who will shine."

Sport Wanganui has been taking expressions of interest from prospective volunteers and workshops will continue to be held to help train newcomers.

Eighteen Wanganui businesss have provided sponsorship, while Mars Petcare New Zealand with its headquarters in the River City has naming rights for the Road Race.

Anyone interested in volunteering can register at Sport Wanganui or Alec McNab at Wanganui Collegiate School.