Hi everyone for another week and firstly we must give a huge congratulations to Emily Paterson who is coming home with a Junior Worlds Track Championships silver medal from the team pursuit in a remarkable final that they lost in 7 1000th of a second! You have got to wonder how they measure that sometimes?
Also Conor Shearing who came desperately close finishing 5th in the 1000m individual time trial and 4th in the men’s team pursuit – oh so close but we are super proud of you both and your efforts in Germany! Safe travels and enjoy the trip home everyone.
Deepest Sympathy
I apologise sincerely for omitting last week that we sadly fare welled Cycling Southland Life Member Sonny Broad’s wife, Lesley. It was a very fitting tribute to a remarkable woman who has supported and personally hosted numerous great riders over the years. We wish Sonny and his extended family our ongoing warm wishes and support during this difficult time.
It is also with great sadness that we send our deepest sympathy and best wishes to Denise Randall and family following the passing of the honourable Life Member Lyn Randall on Sunday. Lyn was inducted as a Life Member in 2012 following his extensive contribution to the sport of cycling in Southland and his pivotal role in the establishment of New Zealand’s first cycling velodrome here in Invercargill.
We will remember our respected members with great fondness and treasure the legacy they have left Cycling Southland with for the future development of the sport.
Track Maintenance
On Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1 September we will be doing some track maintenance in preparation for the Oceania Track Championships and other upcoming events. We are seeking about six willing/able-bodied and painting experienced helpers to give us a hand to freshen up the track over the weekend. Please contact us if you fit the bill for this one.
Session Cancellations – As a result of the weekend of painting, all sessions on Monday 2nd September will be cancelled sorry – this includes Cyclofit, Under 15 Squad, Challenger Development and Sprint Squad. This will allow for the paint to fully cure and dry.
Oceania Track Champs
We are seeking expressions of interest from riders wishing to compete in the upcoming Oceania Track Championships, being held here Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 October. Please let Sid know [email protected]
Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased from the ILT Stadium Southland or Ticket Direct Follow the link here
Yunca Entries
Remember to ensure you get your entries in for this year’s Yunca Junior Tour of Southland.
Enter online now and entries close on Monday 16th September.
Yunca Tour of Southland Billets Wanted
We are hoping to billet out the contingent of Australian riders who are returning to Southland this year to race the Yunca Junior Tour of Southland again after a hiatus in recent yearsIf you are able to host a rider or two during the event, preferably within the same age group fields as your kids – with a view to a contra happening for future events in Australia with particular note that the Junior World Road Champs 2022 will be held in New South Wales, please contact Tomo [email protected] and we can confirm arrival and departure times nearer the event.
Awards Night
It is that time of the year again and in all the event preparation we thought we’d better not miss out the annual Awards Night. So mark Sunday 1st September in your diaries for 4pm. There will be an open bar at the Waikiwi Bowling Club and bring a plate to share.
Accordingly, can all recipients of last year’s trophies that still have them at home, please return them to the office as soon as possible thank you.
Road Racing
Another nice turn out for the Wensley’s Cycles Kennington Out and Back Handicap last Saturday check out the brief report on Road Cycling Southland Facebook page
We are still seeking a manager for this weekend’s Donovan Points Race, let [email protected] know if you can help out.
Gore to Waikiwi Classic
We are delighted to announce that George Wilson and Sons / Southland Farm Machinery are back on board as our major sponsor for the annual Gore to Invercargill Classic Handicap Race being held on Saturday 31st August. This is one of the key club races on our cycling calendar and we will again be looking to any willing helpers to lend us a hand with marshalling etc on the day. Let the office know if you can help.
Southland Road Champs
The following weekend is the Outdoor H&J Smith Southland Road Champs with the Makarewa Time Trial on Saturday 7th September and the Gorge Road Circuit road race on Sunday 8th September. Once again being a key club event, we will be seeking volunteers to lend us a hand both days please.
Tour of Southland Marshalls
I am looking for some volunteers to assist with marshalling on certain stages of this year’s Tour of Southland cycle race. There are stages where we need extra assistance to ensure the overall safety of the event. A vehicle and fuel, flags and hi-viz vests will be provided. The stages where assistance is required are stages 4,5,6 & 7 which is Thursday 7th, Friday 8th and Saturday 9th November. If you are in a position to offer your assistance to this event, I would appreciate your call.
Bruce – mobile 027 431 8198 – email: [email protected]
King House Removals Race Series
Round three of the King House Removals Race Series was held on Friday night and there is already some very closely contested racing with five weeks still to go. Check out the running results
Round four will be held this Friday 23rd August.
Junior Culture Workshops
We want to hear from our young cyclists about how we can make the sport better for you, both on and off the track. We want to know what’s working well and where we need to improve. We also want to know how we can get more people on bikes…and think you might have some of the answers!.
We are starting the workshops with our junior riders first and are encouraging all our junior riders to attend these fun, relaxed and interactive sessions. These sessions are for riders only, no parents. Once we have held these junior rider sessions we will be working with Sport Southland to hold parents workshops and will also be holding some with our coaches as well.
Because we have such a number of junior riders, and Sport Southland can only have so many attendees at a time, we have organised 3 dates, which are 21st and 27th & 28th August, at 6pm in the Champions Lounge.
We have randomly split all our riders up and we will be contacting all the riders over the next week to let them know their time slot. If you can’t make that time then we will be able to switch to suit as much as we can, but we do have maximum numbers per session.
We realise that this might mean some of you miss a track session, but this is an important part of the club and we have worked alongside Sid (as Coaching Co-ordinator) to co-ordinate these workshop times. The coaches, along with Tomo, will be talking to cyclists over the coming week about them being involved and their time slot.
Group one have been notified and Groups two and three will be notified tomorrow.
Finally, because this is a monster comms today, a huge, fantastic well done to the many incredible results from our Cycling Southland riders who represented their schools at the New Zealand Schools Duathlon Championships, hosted by the Southland Triathlon & Multisport Club over the weekend. It was epic! Congrats to you all on a job well done.
So that is more than enough from me again for another week.
Take care and get those Yunca entries in!