Mountain race’s future unclear
Differing values threaten popular event
Kawerau King of the Mountain competitors have been saddened by the news that one of the town’s most popular annual events may never happen again.
Though no formal statement has been released about this year’s race, those registered to compete have been told it will not be happening in 2022 and it is uncertain whether it will take place in the foreseeable future.
The Kawerau King of the Mountain race is an approximately 7 kilometre up-and-down return trip of Mount Pu¯ tauaki.
In the past week, Kawerau District Council’s events and venues manager, Lee Barton, has sent a letter to people who had paid entry fees for last year’s race, which was cancelled due to Covid-19.
It said this year’s race had also been cancelled, so their fees would be refunded.
The reason given was that organisers had been unable to secure permission from the landowners.
The letter states, “We have been informed that this decision remains until further notice – meaning there is now much uncertainty as to whether the event will take place in the immediate coming years or even again.”
“A reason has been provided that the values of the race organisers, community and race participants no longer align with the landowners’ values.”
This news comes just a few days after the landowner announced it was no longer issuing permits for individuals to access Mount Pu¯ tauaki, for health and safety reasons.
Ma¯ori Investments, which has power of appointment to Nga Maunga Kaitiaki Trust, the owner of the land, has previously granted permits for people to walk up the mountain.
Chief executive Kiriwaitingi Rei told the Whakata¯ne Beacon last week, in a written statement, that the decision to close access to Maunga Pu¯tauaki from July 1 was due to ongoing maintenance issues on the access track, and the significant safety issues that this posed to the public.
“We are awaiting a further independent health and safety report setting out how these risks can be mitigated or eliminated, which we will act upon as soon as practicable,” Rei said.
Approached for comment on the future of the King of the Mountain Race, Rei said she had no further comment to make regarding the closure of Mount Pu¯tauaki.
One of the entrants who received the letter, Mihiata Ruhi, said she felt sad for the community.
She said although she hadn’t run in the race in recent years, she had previously been an entrant for 10 consecutive years.
“This was going to be my first time
back from having a bit of a break from it,” she said. “It has always been a really good event to bring all the schools together, and the whole community really.
“I know the council was working really hard to try to bring it back to its community roots as well. There was a lower entry fee for people who lived in Kawerau just to try and encourage that community participation.
“It’s just sad that it [the mountain] is on our back doorstep and we can’t even get access. It’s something we look after too, it’s not just those who are in charge of it. There are some of us in the community who actually respect the mountain and look after
it in lots of different ways.”
Ruhi had not been told what the values were that no longer aligned with hers.
“I don’t know what’s changed over the years, either for the six-hour or previous years of doing the mountain race. It never seemed to be an issue. I’ve done both tracks this year and neither seemed to pose any health and safety issues to me.
“Even with the six-hour race, it just seems to get harder and harder to get access every year for whatever reason. It seems the powers that be just have other ideas.”
Kawerau District Council was approached for comment by the Beacon.