Guess who's fittest - and smartest

Dog handler Alan Duncan, who finished second in the rowing.

At the end of the day it was about fundraising for a colleague and his family, who have not had a great 2016, but it didn't take long for the competitive element to emerge when police personnel from Kaitaia, Kerikeri and Kaikohe set on Saturday to decide which station was the fittest and the smartest.

Forty station reps competed in four Workout of the Day (WoD) events - a 500m row, 30 sit-ups, 20 boxstep overs, 10 hand release press-ups and a 100 metre run; a 30m bear crawl, five broad jumps and three burpees; a 40kg sledge relay and a one-minute maximum calorie assault bike challenge; and a 1500kg 30m tow (for teams of three men and two women).

Jason Swanepoel (Kaikohe) demonstrating the bear crawl.

The title of fittest female went to Kaitaia's Kelly Bates and the fittest male to Treston Laybourne (Kerikeri), while Kerikeri proved to be the fittest station - and the smartest, or at least the quickest, at dredging up trivial information.

Kaikohe's team was one short, which could reportedly result in a recount of some description, while it was suggested that Kaitaia had not improved its odds by selecting Senior Sergeant Geoff Ryan.

The Northland Age disputed that vigorously, Geoff, and will co-operate fully with any inquisition.

Trudy Derbyshire, who helped organise the day, said the main aim had been to support a fellow officer with a young family, whose wife was battling a serious illness.

The beneficiary of his fellow officers' generosity said he was overwhelmed and extremely humbled by the support he was receiving, but Trudy was having none of that.

"It's what we do for a colleague in need," she said.

It was a family affair too, with a bouncy castle and water sprinkler for the kids and food aplenty, including spit-roast lamb, wild pork, a barbecue and salads.

Generous donations from the community were either raffled or given away as spot prizes.

The raffles included a Salt Air flight to the Hole in the Rock, a SwanAir scenic flight for three, a $200 meal voucher from Charlotte's Kitchen in Paihia and two nights' accommodation at White Sands Apartments on the Karikari Peninsular.

"Huge thanks to the community and police staff for their generosity and willingness to help in any way possible," Trudy added.