Northland news in brief: Meet the candidates, Fibre broadband is coming

Two Northlanders are set to join Blair Tuke (pictured) in the New Zealand SailGP Team.

Meet the candidates

People wanting to vote in the Northland Regional Council's Whangārei Urban seat byelection can meet the candidates at a public event tonight. The byelection, was called after the resignation of former councillor John Bain late last year over the council's plan to introduce a Māori seat. The meet the candidates event will be held at Whangārei Central Baptist Church, from 7pm tonight. The byelection candidates are Terry Archer, Stuart Bell, Chrichton Christie, Paul Dimery, Fiona Douglas, Kieran Powdrell, Darleen Tana Hoff-Nielsen and Charlotte Toner.

Fibre for Wellsford

Fibre broadband is coming to Wellsford and Chorus is holding a public information session to help people better understand how they can get connected and why they should want to. The Chorus team will be on hand at the Wellsford Memorial RSA on Olympus Rd from 3pm to 6pm on February 11 to answer residents questions about getting connected to fibre or how to make the most of fibre in their home or business.
When Chorus' fibre build is completed in August, more than 1000 homes and businesses in Wellsford will be able to connect to a fibre broadband network.

Tuke and Burling name SailGP team

Olympic gold medallists and defending America's Cup champion Blair Tuke, of Kerikeri, and Peter Burling announced their team to compete in SailGP Season 2. Three Northlanders - Tuke, 31; Andy Maloney, 30, of Kerikeri; and Marcus Handsen, 28, of Whangārei have made the six-strong New Zealand SailGP Team roster. Tuke, alongside many of the New Zealand SailGP Team members will combine Olympic campaigns with the SailGP league. Tuke said: "we believe a constant high performance environment gives our team members incredible development opportunities and keeps them at the top of their game".

Janet Agnew tournament

More than 70 tennis hopefuls will converge on Whangārei on the weekend as part of the annual Janet Agnew Carnival Doubles Tennis Tournament. As the largest tennis tournament in the region, nearly $10,000 worth of prizes can be won, including a trip for two staying at the Copthorne Hotel in Paihia, and a GreatSights Fullers trip for two on the Hole in the Rock Cruise in the Bay of Islands. The A and B grade men's and women's doubles will be held on Saturday while the A and B grade mixed doubles are on Sunday at the Thomas Neale Family Memorial Park Tennis Centre on Winger Crescent in Kamo.