18 Oct 2018

The new athletics track at the Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub will be christened on Saturday when Athletics Canterbury stages its first track meet there.

The international standard athletics track is the first of the new sporting facilities to open at Ngā Puna Wai so it is a major milestone in the sports hub’s development.

Athletes on the starting blocks.

Ngā Puna Wai's athletics track will see action for the first time this weekend.

“After the years of planning and hard work that have gone into developing the Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, it is going to be fantastic to welcome Athletics Canterbury to their new home and to see athletes competing on the track for the first time,’’ says Christchurch City Council Recreation and Sports Services Manager David Bailey.

“The summer athletics season is just getting under way so the athletics track will be getting lots of use over the next few months.’’

Between 700 and 800 children from Christchurch’s athletics clubs will be the first to compete on the athletics track, with their races scheduled to take place between 9am and 1pm Saturday.

At 1.15pm competition will pause so the athletics community can officially open the track.

In the afternoon about 100 athletes will take part in the senior club competition.

Athletics Canterbury General Manager Ian Thomas says after seven years without a home, they are delighted to be able to call Ngā Puna Wai the new home of Athletics Canterbury.

“We have a whole generation of athletes that have never competed on a facility like this. We are grateful to all those involved in the Ngā Puna Wai project for giving our athletic community and the wider Christchurch community such a superb facility on our doorstep,’’ Mr Thomas says.

“I know our athletes cannot wait for the first day of running, throwing and jumping at Ngā Puna Wai. I’m looking forward to sharing our enjoyment of our new home with not just our athletic community, but with the new faces I hope to see experiencing this world class facility.''

The Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub has been developed through a partnership between the Council, Athletics Canterbury, Canterbury Hockey, Rugby League Canterbury, Tennis Canterbury and Sport Canterbury.

It has been built to replace earthquake damaged sports facilities across Christchurch, including the athletics and field amenities at QEII Park, the hockey turfs at Porritt Park, the tennis courts at Wilding Park, and the rugby league fields displaced from Rugby League Park in Addington by Christchurch Stadium.

Each section of the sports hub is having a staged opening as work is completed ahead of an overall site opening, which is planned for March 2019.