TURN IT UP

IN this week’s column, we look at the reasons why two of the South Island’s leading young reinsmen will cruelly miss out on a trip to compete in the Australasian Young Drivers’ Championships in Brisbane in December.

The series was going to be the final reward for the hour upon hour and kilometre after kilometre of travel Rory McIlwrick put in to win last season’s national junior drivers’ premiership.

Runnerup Matt Anderson spent just as much time travelling to the same meetings, up and down the South Island.

While McIlwrick put an end to Anderson’s premiership dream, both were in a comfortable spot in the standings that usually decide who would represent New Zealand at the young drivers’ championships.

Though nothing had been officially announced, each year those spots had gone to the leading national, then North and South Island junior driver from the previous season.

When August 1 came, McIlwrick and Anderson sealed their places at the championships with their onetwo finish in the junior ranks.

Anderson made the trip to Perth last year where he drove well enough to finish secondequal in the weeklong series.

And while enjoying what he described as a trip of a lifetime, he made sure others who could only dream of having such an experience would benefit from it. Anderson donated all his earnings from the trip to Christchurch’s Ronald McDonald House.

However, the karma from that good deed has not come back to help him this year.

This week he and McIlwrick were told they would not going this year after it was discovered they do not qualify on a technicality.

Both drivers are 25 and they need to be 24 at the start of the season in which the championships are held.

While two talented and capable drivers in Kimberly Butt and Sheree Tomlinson have been called in as replacements, one must ask why is the rule there?

It has been revealed that the same rule prevented Stevie Golding and Jessica Young competing in previous series. Again, why is it still there?

Harness Racing Australia, which runs the series, and Harness Racing New Zealand both say the age limit is to restrict the series to ‘‘young’’ drivers and the rules have defined that as 24 or younger at the start of this season.

Here is the real clincher. If the series was truly for young drivers, then why is New Zealand not sending its best three young drivers who are excluded — Brad Williamson, Kyle Marshal and Sheree Tomlinson?

By premiership results, they are the best young — under 25— drivers from last season.

Instead, the rules limit contestants to the driver who is not only under 25, but also a junior driver.

It’s quite bizarre, isn’t it?

Besides that, is anyone 25 and over considered too old or middleaged? What a completely and utterly ridiculous thought.

The situation is not helped by the fact the series has faced date changes as it was previously attached to the Interdominions, and the fact that Harness Racing New Zealand changed the age limits for junior drivers in recent years.

But, let me surmise.

The word ‘‘young’’ rather than the word ‘‘junior’’ is stopping two drivers who have shown themselves to be the best two drivers under 26 years old representing their country in what is Australasia’s premier test for emerging reinsmen and women.

And here is what to do.

Harness Racing NZ should lobby Harness Racing Australia to change a silly rule that defines a 25yearold as being too old and align the competition with Harness Racing NZ’s licensing rules.

Twentyfive, old. As a Tui billboard would say, Yeah, right!

Happy trails.