NZ Is A Country Of Crazy Jandal Stories
DHL announces the winners of the “can we handle your jandal story” competition Auckland, 19 December 2008 – It is
official: New Zealand is a country of crazy jandal stories!
DHL Express NZ recently ran a competition searching for New Zealand’s best jandal stories in support of Surf Life
Saving New Zealand’s National Jandal Day. Competition entries included jandal breakages at concerts, jandal dares and a
jandal that was reunited with its owner after ten days in the ocean. The top story from each region won an ultimate
summer pack including: A hot red Olympus digital camera, limited edition Huffer jandals, DHL beach towel, a toy surf
rescue boat and a Surf Life Saving back pack.
Northland - Tony Baker from Mangawhai won Northland’s best jandal story with a bet involving eating a jandal. Tony was
thinking about becoming a lifeguard and when a senior lifeguard got wind of this he laid down the bet - that if Tony
became a lifeguard and lasted the whole season then he would eat his jandal. Tony rose to the challenge, trained hard
and qualified as a lifeguard. True to his word, at the end of the season after Tony had completed all his patrols, the
senior lifeguard bit a piece of his jandal off, chewed and swallowed it.
Auckland - Tracy Warrington from the Hibiscus Coast won Auckland’s best jandal story with her story of how her jandal
helped her find love. One day when Tracy was playing frisbee at the beach, her jandal got stuck in a mudflat and out of
frustration she pulled her jandal out of the mud and threw it to the shore. When she looked up she saw a cute guy
rubbing his eye after being hit in the head with her jandal. Luckily for Tracy the man had a good sense of humour and
saw the jandal incident as an opportunity to invite her out for a drink. Two years later they are sill together and have
a bronzed jandal hanging in their lounge as a reminder about how they made their “connection”.
Bay of Plenty - David Smith from Kawerau won the Bay of Plenty best jandal story for being reunited with his lost
jandal after ten days in the ocean. David recalled how he and his friend Kevin Seargeant were launching a seahorse
kontiki when he slipped in the water and one of his jandals floated away. David was disappointed as he had bought the
jandals in Fiji and had them for several years. Ten days later David had a phone call from Kevin asking if he had thrown
the other jandal away, as while he had been fishing he saw and recovered the lost jandal. Kevin was the only one who
knew the jandal had been lost and the distinctive type of jandal it was - talk about lucky coincidence!
East coast - Nina Melief from Gisborne won East Coast’s best jandal story with her encounter of how her favourite
jandals were stolen. Nina had worn and moulded her $6.99 jandals to perfection and they had travelled all over New
Zealand with her, until her beloved jandals were stolen in Palmerston North. Nina is still grieving for her much loved
“jandys.”
South Island - Kim Reilly from Dunedin won South Island’s best jandal story for how her jandals got her in trouble with
the law. Kim was working at a summer camp in the UK when one night, she and a few other camp goers devised a practical
joke of switching ‘Open Home’ and ‘For Sale’ signs randomly around the village. Unfortunately for Kim, she found that
wearing jandals and wielding an 8ft sign is a bad combination that resulted in her tripping over a gutter. Kim’s pained
scream alerted the attention of a security guard and Kim was caught, got in a lot of trouble, taken to a Welsh hospital,
and put on crutches. The competition was launched on Surf Life Saving National Jandal Day and closed on Friday, 19
December 2008. DHL has been a major sponsor of Surf Life Saving New Zealand since 2003. DHL supports lifesaving
development, surf equipment and an annual beach safety awareness campaign. National Jandal Day, Surf Life Saving’s
national appeal day, took place on Friday 5 December 2008. Jandal Day urges Kiwis to wear jandals in support of Surf
Life Saving and the 4000 lifeguards that protect the beaches each summer. All funds raised will go towards essential
rescue equipment, surf lifeguard training and extending services to meet the growing needs of the New Zealand
communities.
- ENDS -