The airport runway provides some interesting and exciting racing as it enables left and right corners to be incorporated into the races.
As speedskaters generally always turn left in races, adding right-hand turns provides another layer of complexity and fun.
Stages 6 and 7 were held at the Mitre 10 Mega carpark after closing at 6pm and any skaters not tired from battling it out at the airport were left feeling so after the long stage 6 races. Mitre 10 has supported Wanganui Speed for many years, allowing them to use their carpark after hours to train.
Stages 8 and 9 were completed at Jubilee Stadium on Sunday morning, along with the special stages where skaters compete for donated prizes.
St John’s Club president Royce Tunbridge was there to hand out the prizes to the placegetters and winners. The St John’s Club is the River City Tours' main sponsor and has been for 15 years.
Whanganui skater Andrew Jones had an overall win in the men’s premier grade, taking it out from fellow Whanganui up-and-coming skater Micky Zhang, who has made big strides this year.
In the premier ladies grade, Whanganui skater Tazia Parker was dominant against good-quality opposition from around the country, with Georgia Hurley, from Valley Inline, second and Katie McIlhatton, from Palmerston North, third.
With plenty of entries from masters skaters, great racing was had with Paul Cleeves' late entry proving worthwhile as he narrowly took the title from Mellissa Allen for a Whanganui one-two finish. There were also good performances by Crystal Denbee, Scott Morpeth and Johnmen Zhang.
The Valentine family of Joshua, Gabriella and Caleb all skated on Sunday only, adding another high-quality dimension to each of their respective grades.
Juvenile girls skater Keira Harris prevailed in a close competition and new skater Payton Koubaridis got some valuable skating experience as she placed 4.
Sister Mila also competed for the first time, picking up second in the primary girls' grade, beating out teammate Mackenzie Allen who finished third.
Whanganui had new skaters Leon Perr winning the novice grade with fellow new skaters Lexie Sim, Jessica Classens and daughter Kelby Smith showing the local club has plenty of skating talent coming through.
Next up for the Whanganui Speed Skating team will be the National Champs being held in Palmerston North (road) at Memorial Park on December 30 and 31.
Then they will be in action at Whanganui’s Jubilee Stadium (flat track) from January 1-3, 2025. The national event will culminate with the 42km marathon at Feilding’s Manfeild race circuit on Sunday, January 4.
