Whanganui athletics: Cooks Gardens’ track needs resurfacing if is to host international events

New Zealand international Sam Tanner regained his New Zealand mile title at the 2023 Cooks Classic. Photo / Peter Jones

Whanganui’s Cooks Gardens’ athletics track needs to be resurfaced so it can retain its World Athletics certification to host international events.

The Whanganui District Council says it is considering spending around $570,000 on the track as part of its long-term plan process.

In the meantime, Athletics Whanganui has received an extension of the track’s certification to be able to host its premier event, the Cooks Classic, on January 27, 2024, with the Athletics New Zealand Mile Championships being held alongside it.

Cooks Classic meeting director Russell Sears said the need to replace the track came from changes to World Athletics’ regulations, which were supposed to be implemented in 2019 but were delayed until 2023 due to Covid-19.

“The certification procedure means that tracks can only be certified for 12 years and then recertified every 12 years,” Sears said.

The track was last resurfaced in 2011.

However, organisations can apply for extensions to this certification.

The Cooks Classic is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour, a series of independent track and field events recognised by World Athletics.

As World Athletics had already allocated the date for the Cooks Classic, Sears said Athletics Wanganui was approved for an extension to its certification to hold the event.

The extension will last until March 31, 2024, which will get Athletics Wanganui through its competition season.

Sears said Athletics Wanganui was now working with the district council to come up with a business case for resurfacing the track, but no timeline was yet in place for when it would be presented to the council.

“There’s a lot of information that has to be put together and that’s being done at the present time by council staff,” he said.

The council’s community, property and places general manager Sarah O’Hagan said it was “in the process of exploring an investment in the track through resurfacing”.

“This is part of our overall long-term plan process,” O’Hagan said.

Engineers would test the track’s bottom surface before any decisions were made on resurfacing, Sears said.

“If that doesn’t have to be replaced, it would just mean a re-topping of the top surface.

“If the bottom surface was not up to standard, then the whole surface would have to be replaced.”

O’Hagan said the council estimated it could cost around $570,000 for the top surface to be replaced.

A final cost would depend on a more detailed investigation into whether there were areas where the bottom surface also needed repair work.

Sears said if the track’s certification expired, Whanganui would no longer be allowed to hold international events such as the Cooks Classic or national championships and national permit events.

Athletics Wanganui could still hold club nights and lower profile meetings, but if a national record was broken at one of these meets it may not be able to be ratified.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.