Sport: Raft of amateur fixtures a boon to local economy

Zaryd Wilson

Driving between Victoria Park, Wanganui Ball Park and the office on Thursday there was a noticeable amount of activity in town.

Traffic at lights was banked up a little further and parking was harder to find.

That has to be in some part down to the amount of sporting visitors Whanganui is hosting at the moment.

Right now, there is the Festival of Cricket being held at Victoria Park and the national under-15 softball in Gonville. At a quick guess, there could up to 30 teams in Whanganui this month, all staying for multiple days.

That's not including the Boxing Day bikes, Cooks Classic and other events which currently escape my mind. Oh, hang on, there are the National Speed Skating Champs, round two of the New Zealand Jetsprint Championships, the North Island Club Rowing Championships and the West Coast North Island Cycling Championships this weekend.

And, while I may have had to do a few more laps of the block in search for a park, it's surely a boon for Whanganui.

Our array of quality sporting facilities and location lends itself to hosting these events which we should work to keep.

I've lived here just over 18 months and only just found out about the softball park. They just keep popping up.

Whanganui may not get the volume of professional sporting events other centres do but the children's and amateur events we do host are every bit as valuable for the city.

Add up all the players, coaches, parents and support staff and you've got a lot of beds filled and wallets emptied at local businesses.

And a lot of (hopefully good) stories being taken back and shared with other parts of the country.

Those things have to be fairly high up Whanganui's wish list.

Our thanks should go to those who organise these events in their own time. The young athletes are not the only ones who benefit from their efforts.

And I'd encourage you to get out and spend a few hours at these games.

The standard of play has been excellent and while they're not in the big leagues yet I can guarantee it won't be the last you see of some of them.