- John Garside and Darin Sheridan from Colgate (major sponsor)
- The team at Athletics New Zealand led by Peter Pfitzinger and Courtney MacDonald.
- The Local Organising Committee, Chair Martin Scott and the rest of the team Sue Leadbeater, Kara Marino, Shona Brown, Jacqui Restieaux, Liz Keenan and Ian Thomas
On behalf of the city I would like to welcome you all to Christchurch and Nga Puna Wai for the 42nd year of the South Island Colgate Games.
It’s very exciting to have the games back in Christchurch after 12 years away, with over 1000 seven to 14 year olds from around New Zealand and Australia participating in this event at, for the first time, this wonderful facility.
This is a really important sporting event, as it showcases some of the most promising up and coming young athletes. It will also be a great opportunity for you to meet new people and make long lasting friendships.
I hope you also get to see some of the city. The Margaret Mahy playground and Turanga, our new library, are both great places to visit and have fun.
I could wish you the best of luck in your competitions, but I’m sure you know that luck has very little to do with success - it’s your passion, drive and commitment – that’s what makes the difference.
But wait there’s more:
I am extremely excited and pleased to use today’s event to formally announce that the Christchurch City Council has partnered with Athletics New Zealand to build a new Indoor Training Facility here at Ngā Puna Wai.
This facility will provide a space that all users of Ngā Puna Wai can utilise for indoor training and will include an indoor throw facility specifically for Athletics.
This new facility is set to be complete by quarter 2 this year so that athletes can continue their training at Ngā Puna Wai through winter in the lead up to the Olympic Games in Tokyo
For those of you who dream of competing at the Olympics or Commonwealth Games, this facility as well as the other amazing facilities here at Ngā Puna Wai will provide a fantastic pathway for you to be able to train and compete alongside your national heroes.
I would like to thank Athletics New Zealand for their significant investment in this new facility and we look forward to partnering with you to bring this to life, not only for Christchurch, but also for all the athletes who will come here to train and to compete.
And on that fantastic announcement, can I again welcome you all here and wish you all the best!