Fun race claims child, teen victims

Wine barrel competitors at Saturday's annual Martinborough Square Barrel Race, which left a spectator, 6, with a broken leg and an injured racer airlifted to Wellington Hospital. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

TWO crashes during wine barrel races in Martinborough at the weekend left a 6-year-old spectator with a broken leg and a teen racer airlifted to hospital with suspected spinal injuries.

Co-ordinator Conor Kershaw said hundreds of spectators had attended the annual Martinborough Square Barrel Race on Saturday. The record crowd was being kept from the race circuit by barriers when a girl aged 6 was caught up in a crash involving racers.

"She had her arms and legs through the barrier at the time. It put a black cloud over the event but we've put a few things in place."

Mr Kershaw said the girl had been taken to the races by family friends and an ambulance was called to the scene before organisers were told of her injuries. He had since visited the girl in Wairarapa Hospital, where she had been admitted on Saturday.

The square was closed to road traffic and a doctor and nurse were on site throughout the event, Mr Kershaw said. Firefighters were also on hand when the second crash of the day unfolded.

He said the races had been running for the past eight years and came ahead of the Toast Martinborough festival that was held in the town on Sunday. Nine firms and six vineyard teams had contested the Martinborough Business Association event.

The races ran for an hour from 4pm and comprised relays of racers competing over a 50m circuit in a specialist barrel rolling event and a converted barrel push-cart competition.

The second crash that caused injuries came soon after the first, he said, and involved a 19-year-old Pain & Kershaw worker who was a member of the firm's race team.

Martinborough Fire Station Officer Jake Hawkins said the teenager had struck his head during the spill. After first response treatment at the scene, he had been airlifted to Wellington Hospital with suspected spinal injuries, assessed and later discharged.

"They were having a get-go and the young fellow fell out of the wine barrel and hit his head," Mr Hawkins said.

Mr Kershaw said both crashes were reported to Worksafe although the spill involving the young man was deemed less significant as racers were required to wear helmets.

"If you're going to do battle in a barrel racing cart there is bound to be consequences sometimes. But the little girl who turned up to watch -- it's certainly far from ideal when an innocent bystander gets injured."

There were "heaps" of children at the races, he said, and the crash that left the young girl injured was "a really unfortunate accident".

"We'll be working with Worksafe and have already got a robust process in place to make it a hell of a lot safer," he said.

"That includes keeping children back from the barriers, which kids can put arms and legs and limbs through, or changing the style of barrier altogether."

The event committee was meeting tomorrow night to debrief about the day and feedback was being sought from racing teams.