Yahoo!Xtra Takes You a Step Closer to the Action

Yahoo!Xtra Takes You a Step Closer to the Action

With two of the largest events on the calendar, New Zealand Fashion Week and the Rugby World Cup, upon us, Yahoo!Xtra is working with reputable industry experts to take its audience as close to the action as possible.

Popular Rugby Legend, Buck Shelford and Radio Sports’ opinionated ‘Man in the Stands’ will be posting regular blogs from France and keeping in touch with Yahoo!Xtra’s community of kiwi rugby fans keeping them up to date on all the ins-and-outs of the Rugby World Cup.

And leading New Zealand Fashion Designer, Tanya Carlson, will be talking with New Zealanders through regular blogs on the Yahoo!Xtra site and Yahoo!Xtra Answers, to give an inside look into the preparation, challenges and exhilaration that designers go through both in the lead up to and during Air New Zealand Fashion Week.

Kevin Bowler, Yahoo!Xtra CEO says that Yahoo!Xtra is committed to delivering New Zealanders first class news, community tools, and entertainment. “We are really working hard to make sure that we have the right people on-board to provide our audience with top quality opportunities to gain true insight into news, sport, entertainment and events,” he says.

“We have a fantastic editorial team, but it is great to be able to give them the added support of industry authorities like Buck, the Man in the Stands and Tanya. They are each able to report as participants, giving a truly ‘insider’ take on the action.

“And with technology advancing we are able to empower people to interact with industry experts to find out what they really want to know. People can respond instantly to blogs or pose questions through Answers. These tools allow people so much more than simply reading an edited version of events.”

To follow Tanya Carlson, Buck Shelford and the ‘Man in the Stands’ blogs or ask questions through Answers visit www.yahooxtra.co.nz.

ENDS

Yahoo!Xtra – http://www.yahooxtra.co.nz:
Yahoo!Xtra is a joint venture between Yahoo!7 and Telecom New Zealand and connects New Zealanders to their passions, communities and the world's knowledge online. New Zealanders are able to benefit from an enhanced range of online services in a localised way including news, sport, entertainment and global best in breed content, social networking and interactive tools from Yahoo!Xtra.

Yahoo!Xtra Answers - http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/:
A huge phenomenon worldwide, Answers allows people to ask straightforward questions and receive specific answers from others on the Internet. It’s a living repository for topical, relevant information made up of real life experience, advice and opinion that allows users to find answers they’re after, questions that they can offer advice on, or pose a questions of their own.

Worldwide, more than 100 million people use Yahoo! Answers every month and over 250 million questions have been posted. More than 129,000 New Zealanders use Yahoo!Xtra Answers.

TANYA CARLSON – http://www.yahooxtra.co.nz/fashionweek:
Tanya Carlson is one of New Zealand’s leading fashion designers, renowned for stunning, impeccably thought-out collections which marry a strong concept with superb tailoring and exquisite detail. With and instinctive eye for colour and detail, she also has an innate sense of what it means to be ahead of the fashion curve.

Carlson’s gracious designs attract both critical acclaim and a dedicated customer following with stockists throughout New Zealand and Australia.

Several Carlson pieces are now in the permanent collection of Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand.

BUCK SHELFORD - http://nz.blogs.yahoo.com/buckshelford:
Born in 1957 Wayne 'Buck' Shelford made his debut for the All Blacks in 1985. He quickly earned a reputation as one of the toughest players in the game. Shelford played in 48 matches for the All Blacks between 1985 and 1990 - 22 of those were tests. Throughout his career he scored 88 points - 22 tries - for New Zealand, 20 of those points came in tests.
When his career as an All Black was brought to an end in 1990, Shelford had earned the respect of the nation and the rugby world as one of the hard men of the game. But on top of that he had also become one of the county's heroes and a figure who players and fans have looked up to ever since.

THE MAN IN THE STAND - http://nz.blogs.yahoo.com/maninthestand:
The Man in the Stand isn't your average sports fan. He's obsessive when it comes to sport, he lives and breathes it and he's been to the ends of the earth to watch it. You may know The Man In The Stand, he's a regular on Radio Sport and he's full of opinions. You may not like his opinions, in fact you might think he's gone raving mad some days. But there's one thing you will love. He's got plenty to say and it's all about sport.

He's been to two Rugby World Cups, he's been to three Wimbledons, two Australian Opens and as far back as 1972 he followed the New Zealand cricketers around the UK. Over that time he's built up a gallery of sports memorabilia that borders on obsessive. The Man In The Stand isn't afraid to call a spade a spade and he'll take anyone to task if he feels the need. At the end of the day he's exactly like you and I. And The Man In The Stand has truly been in a lot of grandstands.

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