Grandstand revamp is target

COLLECTOR'S ITEM: Martin Guptill, signed bats for auction.PHOTO/FILE

The Masterton Golf Club's Lansdowne course will be a hive of activity on Friday.

It will host two events, one starting at 11am and the other at 5.30pm, and both are expected to attract strong support from both those already involved in the sport on a regular basis and those keen to have a crack at it.

The morning start is for an ambrose tournament organised to raise funds for Wairarapa Cricket's redevelopment of the Queen Elizabeth Park grandstand.

It is aimed at teams of three with registrations being taken from 10am. Refreshments and food will be available on course and there will be a "haggle hole" as well as long drive and closest to the pin prizes. Other on-course competitions are also on the planning board.

Entry fee is $90 per team or $250 for any team which would also be prepared to sponsor a hole.

At the conclusion of the tournament a "social hour" will be held during which an auction will take centre stage. Going under the hammer there will be brand new cricket bats signed by Black Caps Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill, All Blacks jerseys from rugby icons Alex "Grizz" Wyllie, Ian Kirkpatrick and Joe Stanley, handcrafted stool from woodturner Jeremy Bicknell, a Pope and Gray voucher to the tune of $500, two nights' accommodation in a beach house, magnums of wine provided by Matahiwi Estate and, for those thinking further down the track, legal services provided by Logan Walsh for the creation of two wills.

The cost of the grandstand redevelopment project is about $360,000 with the Grandstand Facelift committee established by Wairarapa Cricket setting their sights on raising $60,000 towards it.

They have already made good inroads into that figure with two previous fundraisers, one featuring former Black Caps captain and coach John Wright as guest speaker and the other a casino evening.

The grandstand plans include the extension and upgrading of the changing facilities to meet the requirements for first class fixtures. Access will be provided to the changing rooms from the eastern side of the ground in the order to increase the security of belongings and the size of the long room at the back of the seating area will be almost doubled. That will allow functions to accommodate upwards of 100 people. Kitchen, bar and ablution facilities will also be available in the long room

The extensions and upgrading work will, however, still retain the facade of the building so the overall appearance remains in keeping with the period in which it was constructed.

The second event being held at the Lansdowne course on Friday is the opening round of a Quick7 social league which will run over 10 weeks. Entry fee for teams of up to four players is $40 a week or $350 for the full 10 weeks.

This league will be played under ambrose rules and week one will be a qualifying round so that no one team tries to "burgle" all the prizes. Team handicaps will be reviewed weekly with the right to change.

As the name would suggest, each night's play will consist of seven holes with a start time of 5.30pm and, to go with the social nature of the event, "quality" banter will be encouraged at all times.

It is important to note that numbers for this tourney are strictly limited with the first 10 teams in being given preference.