School gets help to foster bike culture
Big-ticket cricket still within Saxton Oval’s grasp
A national cycling project has delivered a fleet of bikes to Nelson Intermediate School.
Forty pupils were taken out to Avanti Cycles in Richmond yesterday to collect the bikes and helmets before they took the new wheels for a spin back to the school.
Bikes In Schools is a nationwide initiative which sees schools that wish to take part get a fleet of 30 to 50 new bikes and helmets, a storage container, and a combination of riding, pump and bike skills tracks on the school grounds.
Nelson Intermediate is the first school in the Nelson region to benefit from the programme. Staff support and cycle leader Tay Whitmee said it had a very strong cycling culture.
‘‘The students are actively involved . . . in all things biking, whether it be biking to school or just enjoying the playgrounds or bike tracks at school.’’
The new bikes will add to an existing fleet of more than 10 the school has for pupils to use during intervals and lunch breaks.
Whitmee said a plan was still unfolding for the bikes, but a check in and check out system was being looked at, along with using them during the school day.
A track will be added to the current mountain bike course at the school, which will include a beginner course and a pump track
The donation was made possible by funding from Bikes In Schools, Nelson City Council and the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board.
Nelson Marlborough Health health promoter Aaryn Barlow said the initiative was about improving wellbeing.
‘‘The DHB have become increasingly proactive about advocating for walking and cycling infrastructure with our council. As our kids become more sedentary, it’s a good way to get them out and get them active.’’
He said some families couldn’t afford bikes, which meant children weren’t learning how to ride. ‘‘So the whole point of this as well is to give an inclusive model that gives [those] kids skills to get into biking, too’’.
Principal Hugh Gully said the bikes were a ‘‘huge’’ gain for the school.
‘‘We have a lot of students who use their interval and lunch times to bike around the school. Having access to another set of bikes will really add great value to that and . . . allow more students to engage in those activities.’’
As part of the school’s approach to fostering young riders, it has been fixing up old donated bikes and gifting them to pupils in need.
Other Nelson schools that will soon reap the benefits of Bikes In Schools include Parklands School, Broadgreen Intermediate and Waimea Intermediate. The timing may be out on an Indian summer, but Nelson fans are still in the running for some subcontinent cricket action at Saxton Oval.
As the Black Caps’ and White Ferns’ 2018-19 international schedule announcement gets closer, Nelson’s cricket boss says building the venue’s reputation as a quality ground is seen as the first step in attracting test matches to Nelson.
The ICC has announced visits by Sri Lanka and Bangladesh between December and March, bookending the arrival of India for five one-day internationals and three T20s in January and February.
Nelson Cricket general manager Dave Leonard confirmed the city had pitched to host one-day and T20 fixtures this summer. He expected to find out in the next two weeks if it had been successful.
Since January 2014, New Zealand has played eight ODIs in Nelson – against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – as well as a solitary T20 match, against the West Indies in 2017. Zimbabwe, Ireland, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates played at Saxton Oval during the 2015 World Cup.
The world cup aside, Nelson’s previous T20 and ODI matches have taken place in the middle of the holiday season, in late December or early January.
Nelson Cricket finished a threeyear hosting arrangement with NZC and Nelson City Council last year. While a further two years are being finalised, Leonard said discussions had gone as far as the 2018-19 season to date.
‘‘In the big picture, we’ve enjoyed five years of hosting international cricket, which has coincided with some of the Black Caps’ busiest home schedules and the World Cup.
‘‘We’re not in a situation to take anything for granted.’’
The women’s White Ferns team – currently on a record-breaking tour of Ireland and England – have also been regular visitors to Nelson for one-day and T20 matches. However, a tour by the Indian women’s team in February and March provides the only major home fixtures for the side at this stage.
Leonard said that in the case of hosting India especially, broadcast demands and timings were more of an obstacle than venue infrastructure. Day-night fixtures at largercapacity venues would be required.
Leonard said the commencement of the test championship and a promising international calendar next year boded well for Nelson hosting one of the top-ranked international teams in future.
As well as New Zealand’s first Boxing Day test appearance at the MCG, the bumper 2019-20 season features inbound tours by England (two tests, five Twenty20s) preChristmas, and India (two tests, three one-day internationals, five T20s) in February-March.
Given that the 7000-capacity Saxton Oval has yet to host one of the ‘‘big four’’ of world cricket – India, Australia, England and South Africa – and that similar-sized grounds like Mount Maunganui are now equipped to host day-night fixtures, Leonard said he was not getting too far ahead about Nelson’s chances.