Community Spirit Comes Out Tops

MEDIA RELEASE 29 NOVEMBER 2006

Community Spirit Comes Out Tops

The First Anchor Mega Milk Top Kids event, held on 22 November in Nelson, has proven that community spirit is alive and well in the South Island.

Volunteers from St John’s, the local Lions Club, the YMCA and Sports Tasman were on hand to help with the games, while the volunteer fire brigade came along to make sure there was enough water for all the games that involved getting wet.

“It really brought the community together,” says event organizer, Chris Simpson of Strategic Sports. “The big red fire truck also deflected some of the attention, just briefly, from MC Tamati Coffey and netballer Adine Wilson, who maintained a loyal following throughout the day.”

Netballer Adine Wilson concurs that: “Community, rather than competitive, spirit has been a common theme of the Anchor Mega Milk Top Kids events so far.” Wilson has been involved in the preview events and was on hand during the Nelson event day for prize-giving and score-keeping.

This spirit became evident early on when some of the smaller schools put aside their usual rivalry and combined to form teams: in Timaru with Makikihi School & Waituna Creek School, in Christchurch with St Josephs Kaikoura & Suburban School, in Invercargill with Southland Boys & Southland Girls as well as Hedgehope School, Te Tipua School & Hillside School (all three into one team), and lastly, in Dunedin with Ocean View School & Brighton School.

Results, however, are still important and St Paul’s in Nelson will be in celebration mode having scored a hatrick by coming first in the primary and intermediate categories, as well as winning the best supporters award for their cheer-leading squad, who donned glitter wigs, waved pom-poms and learnt special chants for the day.

People who missed out on the event heard live broadcasts from Nelson’s More FM throughout the day from the Trafalgar Park site.

All children received an Anchor Mega Milk Top Kids pack for competing, which included certificates, frisbees, hats, tattoos and Anchor Mega Milk products. Medals were also awarded for bronze, silver and gold placements with “Champions 2006” t-shirts adorning the backs of the gold-award winning teams.

Around 5000 South Island children will be competing in the Anchor Mega Milk Top Kids series, billed as a “NZ Top Town for Schools” that has remaining events in:

- Christchurch, Canterbury QEII Stadium 30 November
- Queenstown, Central Otago Queenstown Event Centre 4 December
- Invercargill, Southland Surrey Park 7 December
- Dunedin, Otago Caledonian Sports Centre 12 December

School teams will be competing locally for the regional title as well as for the overall South Island title. Results are being updated daily on www.megamilktopkids.co.nz and results from Greymouth (25 November) and Timaru (28 November) are online for viewing.

ENDS

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