Otago student to ‘skike’ the length of NZ

MEDIA RELEASE
24 November, 2009

Otago student to ‘skike’ the length of New Zealand for charity

Otago student Scott Kvick won’t be spending his university holidays hanging out at the beach with his mates – he’ll be on a ski trip down the length of New Zealand.

With only  the roller-skis strapped to his feet, the poles fixed to his hands, and whatever he can carry on his back, Scott will begin his ‘skike’ (skiing with wheels) to raise $20,000 for CanTeen and the SPCA.

Beginning in Cape Reinga on November 30, the 20 year-old University of Otago geology student will be sacrificing his summer holidays, Christmas with his family and income for his university studies, to make the 2100 kilometre trek to Bluff.

”The furtherest I've ever actually skiked before in one day is 60 km! That's going to be what truly makes this a challenge. I'm no endurance athlete, just an ordinary guy, in fact, the biggest thing I've ever done before this was a half marathon. I'll be relying on sheer determination to get through this,” he says.

“But there are so many people that involuntarily face challenges far greater than anything I will encounter throughout this journey.”

Scott says he got the idea for the skike after deciding he wanted to travel the length of the country in a unique way.

”I'm an ice hockey player by blood and habit, so skating is something that comes naturally. Rollerblading was an idea, but roads around here are too rough and hills are an absolute mission, so I went looking for tough roller-skis and found Skikes”.

With only one day for rest per week and covering on average 60 kilometres a day, Scott hopes to arrive in Bluff on January 11, 2010.

His schedule is as follows:

·         Cape Reinga to Whangarei via SH1 and SH10 - November 30th to December 6th

·         Whangarei to Waharoa via SH1, 2, and 27 - December 7th to December 13th

·         Waharoa to Palmerston North via SH27, 29, 1 and 54 - December 14th to December 20th

·         Palmerston North to Blenheim via SH56, 57, and 1 - December 21st to December 24th

·         Blenheim to Timaru via SH1- December 27th to January 4th

·         Timaru to Bluff via SH1 - January 5th to January 11th

For a more in depth timetable, visit www.skikingnz.co.nz

Or visit his FaceBook group at: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1262676522892&f=1&e=-12#/group.php?gid=105242286157
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