The New Zealand Road Championships due to be held in Christchurch, have been rescheduled and will now be held in conjunction with the Sir Barry Curtis 10km Classic in Auckland on Sunday 17 October 2010.
The championships, set to be run in Christchurch on 4 September were cancelled following the severe earthquake that hit the city in the early hours of race day.
It was not feasible for a new championships event to be organised and Athletics New Zealand was faced with the possibility that the championships would not be held in 2010.
The Race Director of the Sir Barry Curtis 10km Classic, John Bowden, approached Athletics New Zealand and offered to host the championships. Athletics New Zealand has accepted the offer.
Athletics New Zealand Sport Manager, Brett Addison said “We appreciate the chance to hold a New Zealand Road Championships in 2010 and many of our members will be thrilled to have the opportunity to contest the championships after all. Our thoughts are with our members in Canterbury and the organisers who had worked so hard to plan the champs. The rescheduling of the champs means their efforts will not have been in vain.”
As set out in the entry conditions, there will be no refund of entry fees for the Christchurch championships. All operational expenses were still incurred for the event even though it was not held. However, all athletes in the Senior, Masters, M/W19 and M/W16 grade running events entered for the Christchurch NZ Road Champs will receive an automatic free entry to the Sir Barry Curtis 10km Classic.
Registered athletes who did not enter the Christchurch NZ Road Champs can enter the rescheduled championships by entering the Sir Barry Curtis 10km Classic and will be eligible for NZ Road Champs titles for 2010.
Due to the limitations of the course, it will not be possible to cater for the Boys and Girls 14 and 12 races, nor the Race Walking Events.
Senior Men and Women, Masters Men and Men 19 competitors will race over the full 10km course, while Men 16, Women 19, Women 16 and Masters Women will race in the 5km event.
Further information will be available on the Athletics New Zealand website www.athletics.org.nz from Monday 20 September.
