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Victoria Murray-Orr
Triathlon New Zealand will conduct a review of its
commitment to Wanaka in the wake of a backlash from retailers
in the resort who oppose road closures for the annual Contact
Tri Series Cup race.
A meeting between Challenge Wanaka representative Victoria
Murray-Orr and the Wanaka Community Board has considered
about 43 submissions made by retailers, volunteers and
athletes involved with the event.
Community board chairman Lyal Cocks said the existing road
closures and race course were unlikely to be supported for
next year's event.
Triathlon NZ CEO Dave Beeche said, when contacted, he was
unaware the course for the Wanaka leg of the event would have
to be altered for the event to secure the backing of the
community.
"We view the course as an ideal one for our triathletes,
spectators and in terms of the media promotion which it gives
the sport and Wanaka," he said.
Mr Beeche would not rule out the possibility the event could
move from Wanaka, but he wanted a proper briefing and would
wait for a review of the national tri series before a final
decision is made by Triathlon NZ.
Other cities and towns around New Zealand were interested in
hosting similar events, but Triathlon NZ was "really happy"
with the exposure and event participation in Wanaka, he said.
Triathlon NZ has held two Contact Tri sprint races in Wanaka
in the past two years as part of the week-long Challenge
Wanaka triathlon festival.
Several retailers on Helwick and Dunmore Sts have complained
that the event and its associated Friday afternoon road
closures adversely affect their businesses.
"A lot of retailers feel that the road closures in Helwick
and Dunmore Sts are counter-productive," Mr Cocks said.
Board members had asked Mrs Murray-Orr to come up with an
alternative race course, he said.
Mrs Murray-Orr said the event had grown "very quickly in
popularity".
Both she and Mr Cocks said they would be disappointed if it
went elsewhere.
