North Shore City weighs in for world-class event
North Shore City weighs in for world-class event
October 17, 2005
North Shore City has once again secured a world-class sporting event - this time the 2008 Oceania and Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships.
It will be the first time such an event has been held at the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health in Mairangi Bay, and is a qualifying tournament for the next Olympic Games in Beijing.
North Shore City's events, city promotions and tourism manager, Paul Dunphy, helped put the bid for the event together.
"We're expecting about 250 competitors as well as their support crew and spectators from countries as far away as India, Nigeria, Scotland and Fiji," he says.
National weightlifting coach Richard Dryden is also delighted.
"It's an excellent opportunity for weightlifters to get some top-notch competition, and for countries to qualify for the world's biggest sporting event - the Olympics," he says.
Holding the championships is also expected to have a positive spin-off for North Shore City's economy.
Other top class sporting events secured in coming years include the World Junior Table Tennis Championships and yachting's Tornado World Championships and 420 Class World Championships, all in 2008.
ENDS