The SCFSouth Canterbury Finance Derby - Saturday, February 27
Media Release - 28 February 2010
The South Canterbury Finance Nelson Trolley Derby was raced in perfect conditions, drawing crowds of spectators to Collingwood Street throughout the day on Saturday.
Sam Laidlaw regained the title of Bunnings Monarch of the Hill, clocked by Nelson Police at 68 km/h, but failing to break the record set by Tim Bayley in 2007 of 70km/h. This year, Tim was second at 67 kmh.
Sam raced a new trolley, sponsored by Village Cycles, and said he had gone for more height to improve the aerodynamics, and had used better wheels than on his earlier trolleys.
Two years of effort had gone into many trolleys after last year’s racing was wiped out by rain, and the overall standard of the vehicles was high, complemented by the 10 entries from business houses in the new SCF Corporate Challenge. This was won by Greg Dyer of Port Nelson, second place went to Gary Mead of SCF Tasman and third to Al Bowers of Hamish Fletcher Lawyers.
Home grown ingenuity was not forgotten, with Nelson Intermediate School taking the new Britten Award for the most imaginative design built with maximum child input; and five year old James Fleet in Batman 09 winning the Blueberry IT award for Backyard Brilliance.
The team from WHK won the Stylemeister Award for their look-alike Thomas the Tank engine, with driver and pit crew dressed thematically. The Spirit of the Derby Award went to Francis Lagrutta in Novus-1, the lie-down canoe.
The Nippers’ race (under 6) was won by Kobi Furniss ; Zoomers (7-10 years) went to Ronan Stilwell; and Sprinters (11-14 years) was taken by Liam King Turner.
South Canterbury Finance Tasman Regional General Manager Gene Cooper said it was a fantastic day of family participation.
“The emphasis on children taking part in the event is linked for us with the cause of the Child Cancer Foundation,” he said. “The great support for the Corporate Challenge and for the Running of the Balls gives us a fun way to raise money that stays in the Nelson region to assist with child cancer.”
The Trolley Derby is part of Summer in Nelson, produced by the Nelson City Council as a visitor attraction and a celebration for locals
Jacquetta Bell - Nelson Media Agency
Thanks to the YIMBYs residents of upper Collingwood Street who have been saying "Yes, In My Back Yard" since 2002
The derby continues to develop as a truly community event - helped generously by the sponsors and numerous supporters, including all of the the YIMBYs; residents of upper Collingwood Street who have been saying "Yes, In My Back Yard" since 2002 - providing power, phone-lines, internet connections and sharing the superb location that makes the derby a wonderful annual event on the Nelson calendar
On Saturday 27 February 2010, the day dawned cool and clear and progressed superbly into the afternoon, with a gentle breeze (not the 29km/h northerly as forecasted) without the slightest hint of rain!
All in all, it was a great day with only a few minor crashes and more than a few significant developments:
- To help the drivers get in as many races as possible, the area formerly known as The Pits was equipped with its own PA (and a toilet!) and rebranded as The Grid
- Three members of the Camera Club volunteered to photograph (almost) all of the trolleys at scrutineering
- A bucket truck was on site to hoist photgraphers 17m above the finish line
- Three Emcees provided a running commentary along the full length of the course
- A new timing system (with Traffic Lights!!!) was succesfully introduced
- A Concours d'Elegance trolleys lined up on display by the finish line plus a stage with a PA for the Prize Giving, featuring - for the first time - the Backyard Brilliance and Britten awards, a Spirit of the Derby cup and an array of truly superb new trophies for the winners in the Nippers, Zoomers, Sprinters, Rockets and Monarchs
Working Towards Zero Waste
Given that the derby is held in a public space where the public are completely free to enter, perhaps the most daring change for 2010 was to run the derby as a Working Towards Zero Waste event with NO rubbish bins, NO recycling bins and all food and drink vendors on site selected from the Nelson Foodies Database - dispensing their wares in environmentally-friendly packaging that could be disposed of in compost bins in two (rather splendid!) Zero Waste lounges
As the day progressed it became increasingly obvious that the people of Nelson are more than willing to think and act responsibly; at the end of the day, there was much, much less rubbish on the street than in previous years - when there were wheelie bins dotted the length of the course!
Thank you Nelson! You saved the organisers on the day and our great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren a massive clean up bill!
World Famous in NZ
Rivals gear up for Nelson trolley derby
The lights have been burning late into the night in backyard sheds around Nelson as competitors finish building their racing machines for the city's annual trolley derby.
Download audio: MP3 (duration: 4'00", 1,408KB) from Radio New Zealand
With 79 trolleys and 90 drivers registered, we are all set for yet another fantastic derby. Young and old, come along for a day of thrills and spills, entertainment and laughter.
Weather Forecasts
www.wunderground.com
Hourly Forecast for Saturday
www.metservice.co.nz/towns-cities/nelson
www.metvuw.com/forecast
It can't rain 2 years running!!!
It seems unlikely that we'll be needing the 'rain day' scheduled the day after; the weather forecast at 5:30am on derby day is for clear skies, 23°C with 37% humidity and 34km/h northerlies... that's more than a breeze!
So , although the (ahem) aerodynamically-challenged trolleys might be a bit slow, the day is set to be all go!
Latest Registration
Received: 26 February 2010 01:17
|
Trolley #12
Grades: Nippers and Driver: Bracken McKenzie Aircraft of Doom |
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Arrive early for the inevitable frenzy of crashes, have lunch in the outdoor food-court and - after the finals - cheer on your bouncy ball in the Running Of The Balls fundraiserThe Biggest Pinball Game in the World with five great prizes donated by local businesses
Working Towards Zero Waste
In keeping with the Nelson City Council 'Sustainability Policy and Action Plan' and the Nelson Arts and Summer Festivals event directors commitment to Work Towards Zero Waste, all vendors invited to cater at the derby are dispensing compostable catering containers and encouraging you to Bring Your Own Containers (plates, cups, crockery, etc) with compost stations near the food sale areas and sinks provided for rinsing plates
Pack It In ⇔ Pack It Out
Summer in Nelson events encourage Pack It In, Pack It Out
There will be NO recycling bins and NO rubbish bins at the derby
Please take ALL of your recyclables and ALL of your rubbish home with you
Food and Drink Vendors
- Manuka Street
- Daph's Café
Ice & A Slice
Divine Coffee
Child Cancer Foundation Sausage Sizzle - Bronte Street
- StarBellies Seafood
Mr Whippy
Crema Espresso - The Grid by the Start Line
- Crema Espresso
There's much more to the derby than just fast trolleys
from the Nelson Mail - 24 December 2009
Three designers cream of the crop
COLIN SMITH/ The Nelson Mail BUDDING RACERS: Engineer Gordon Dacombe, right, takes measurements as Louis Rowell Williams left, Cassandra Cotton and Corbin Blackbourn see how their new trolleys fit.
Three Nelson children, encouraged to let their imaginations run riot, have won a contest to design trolleys for the Collingwood Street Trolley Derby in February.
Louis Rowell Williams, 6, has won the Nippers' section with his Submarine Trolley design, while Cassandra Cotton, 10, won the Zoomers' section with her Cassanator design, and 12-year-old Corbin Blackbourn's Inferno Dragon Racer design took out the Sprinters' section.
Organiser Andy Williams said the inaugural challenge was about children using their creativity and imagination to come up with designs without worrying about the engineering side.
The trio were chosen from 12 entries and have each won a chassis and the expertise of a "trolley nut" mentor to make their designs a reality.
The Challenge NZ Ltd 2010 Kids' Design Challenge
An invitation to all kids from 0 to 19 to HAVE A GO and design the trolley of their wildest dreams - using crayons, pencils, pens and/or computers
To help turn the dreams into reality in time for the 2011 Derby, the winners in all four grades each receive prizes of
- materials to the tune of around $300
plus - support and advice from an experienced trolley building engineering mentor
Entry is free!
» Download an Entry Form Now! »
The Style Meister Awards
Add glamour to your design, create a matching costume and you might take home the new (and superb!)
Style Meister trophy, awarded for creative trolley and driver combinations that are
originalPlease Note
For the 2010 derby, the original clause does NOT apply to
trolleys first registered in the 2009 derby, which was 'rained off'
- i.e. the combination has not been entered in a previous derby
The BlueBerryIT Backyard Brilliance Awards
Trolleys that cost less than $200 to build are eligible for the to win one of five BlueBerryIT
$50 vouchers to be spent at the recycling centre on trolley parts; brakes, wheels, frames, etc.
» Read More »
The South Canterbury Finance Corporate Challenge
If you're representing a business then you can help match or exceed the $18,000 that was raised for the Child Cancer Foundation
to assist families in our region who are dealing with cancer.
» 2010 Corporate Challenge Trolleys »
To enter, call Allan at the SCF Nelson office on
03 989 1071 03 989 1071
yes, that's a Nelson number
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Entries
| Grades | | Drivers Born | | Registrations | | Waiting List |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippers | 2003 ~ 2008 | 10 | 0 |
| Zoomers | 1999 ~ 2002 | 12 | 0 |
| Sprinters | 1995 ~ 1998 | 18 | 0 |
| Rockets | 1890 ~ 1994 | 30 | 0 |
| Monarchs | 1890 ~ 1994 | 42 | 0 |
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