24th May 2010
As excitement builds around the world rowing championships, groups are being reminded that money has been set aside to help Waipa district gain maximum benefit from the event.
In this year’s annual plan, Waipa District Council is allocating up to $50,000 to help the district maximise benefit from the championship which are set to attract 700 athletes from more than 50 countries. Almost 600 volunteers will be involved in what is being billed as the largest sporting event to be staged in New Zealand since the 1990 Commonwealth Games.
Council has been facilitating a regional working group to help ensure promotional efforts across the district are co-ordinated. The group has representation from the Te Awamutu and Cambridge Chambers of Commerce, local i-sites, regional tourism interests, Hamilton City Council and the world rowing championships organising committee.
Waipa district council deputy chief executive Ross McNeil said it was getting “close to crunch time” to determine how the $50,000 would be spent. He said the money was not a “huge amount” but said that Council had competing priorities for the limited resources it had available. Council had not given any direct funding to K2010 (world rowing) to host the event, he said, but had made the Lake Karapiro facilities available for use.
Through the regional working group, a number of ideas had been put forward, all aimed at making as much mileage as possible from the championships. Any further ideas should be discussed with working group members to ensure a co-ordinated approach, Mr McNeil said. Un-coordinated approaches to Council were being discouraged.
Ideas needed to be with the regional working group by June 7 so decisions could be made soon after. Ideas can be directed to local i-sites and Chambers of Commerce.
Council would be adjusting its normal work programmes, including garden planting and street maintenance, so that the district was dressed in its “Sunday best” during the championships.
The world rowing championships are being held from October 31 – November 7 at Lake Karapiro.
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