Following further consultation, it has been decided that should all New Zealand regions not be at Alert Level 1 the status of the New Zealand Road Relay Championships on Saturday October 2 will be amended.

Per our statement earlier this month all teams from outside Canterbury will be allowed to compete at the event should their region and Canterbury also be at an Alert Level 1.

If one or more regions is not at an Alert Level 1 the event title will be changed to the Athletics NZ Road Relay Challenge.

Should the Canterbury region be at an Alert Level 2 – the event will be restricted to entrants from Canterbury and it will be known as the Takahe to Akaroa Relay.

The potential name change would remain consistent with Athletics New Zealand’s decision to amend the title of the 2020 Athletics NZ Cross Country Championships in Dunedin to the Athletics NZ Cross Country Challenge.

Participants from all areas of New Zealand could compete in Dunedin with the exception of entrants from the Auckland region, who were subject to Alert Level 3 restrictions at that time.

While disappointed the event title may change because of Covid restrictions Athletics New Zealand CEO Pete Pfitzinger said: “With Auckland currently at an Alert Level 4 we wanted to offer as much clarity as possible around the status of the event. We do, however, want to ensure that those regions at Level 1 are still able to safely compete and I look forward to what I fully anticipate will be a high standard of racing.”

Entry fees will be refunded for those participants unable to attend due to Covid-19 Alert Level restrictions.

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