South Canterbury Finance Nelson Trolley Derby

Saturday Feb 27 2010

>From recycled beds with wooden brakes to highly sophisticated vintage car replicas, the contenders are adding the finishing touches to their vehicles ready for Nelson’s annual celebration of gravity-driven racing – the South Canterbury Finance Nelson Trolley Derby.
 
Event coordinator Antony Hodgson said there’s all day action on Saturday (27 Feb) starting with the heats at 10.30am on through to the finals in the afternoon.
 
“Last year the derby was more or less rained out so there’s a real build up of enthusiasm this time round,” he said. “People have had two years to work on their trolleys and there are some amazing new entries coming in – but we don’t want this to put off the backyard builders and we’d like to see a few more entries from youngsters.”
 
A rain day (Sunday 28th) is scheduled this year, and organisers are confident they’ll be able to run the event with all its components, where last year the SCF Corporate Challenge and the Child Cancer Running of the Balls had to be put off to a later date.
 
South Canterbury Finance Operations Manager Allan McLean says they have 12 business entrants who’ve made a $500 donation to Child Cancer to compete in the Corporate Challenge.
 
“They have to create a trolley, which is a team building exercise for their staff, and then racing it gives them some brand exposure,” he says. “It’s a bit of fun and we are pretty pleased at the entry level, given the pressure businesses have been under recently.”
 
When the races are over it’s time for the Child Cancer Running of the Balls competition, where numbered balls will be rolled down the hill through a zigzag course and into a capture chute at the bottom, with some great prizes at stake, valued at least $200. People can make a minimum donation of $2 and register for a numbered ball at South Canterbury Finance in Montgomery Square, Radio Nelson, Nelson City Council offices or you can make your choice on the day.
 
Other features of this year’s trolley derby include more sponsored prizes for individual events and the kids’ design competition for a ‘dream trolley’ to be built with the help of a mentor for the 2011 derby. There are two new awards this year, one is for backyard builders and is sponsored by Blueberry IT. The other is award has been donated by Dyslexia Correction Services and has links with Britten motorcycles – John Britten who invented the revolutionary Britten Motorcycle was a trolley builder as a boy, and also struggled at school with dyslexia. This award will go to the more imaginative design built with maximum child input.

The Nelson Trolley Derby is on Saturday 27 Feb, 10am – 3.30pm in Collingwood Street, central Nelson.  Registrations close on February 19 More info at http://www.derby.co.nz
 
The Collingwood Street Trolley Derby is presented by the Nelson City Council as part of the Summer in Nelson programme - a celebration for locals and an added attraction for visitors.
 
 
Ends

© Scoop Media