Mountain biking event cancelled
27 January 2022
The Whaka 100 mountain biking event was approved prior to New Zealand moving into the red COVID-19 setting and following the move to red, Rotorua Lakes Council confirmed its approval on Monday 24 January and that appropriate risk mitigation was in place. The Whaka 100 was due to run on Saturday 29 January and Sunday 30 January.
Following further consideration and discussion, given the changing COVID-19 environment with the added context of Omicron in New Zealand, Rotorua Lakes Council supports the decision of the forest land owners CNI and mana whenua that, taking a wider community view, the public health risk is too high for the event to go ahead.
As an additional step Council sought feedback from local health authorities – the Lakes DHB and Toi Te Ora Public Health – regarding their views about events and they confirmed they are increasingly concerned about the risks events in general pose to our community.
Events are important to our district so these are not easy recreation management decisions and we do not take them lightly. Our responsibilities to the wellbeing of the community is at the forefront of our thinking and that of the land owners and mana whenua.
Council appreciates what has already gone into organising the event, the efforts to meet and exceed red setting requirements to mitigate risk, and the commitment and investment by participants, many of whom may already be in Rotorua, and we acknowledge this decision will be disappointing for many.
However, in this new Omicron context and given the situation changes day to day, it was ultimately determined by Rotorua Lakes Council, the forest land owners and mana whenua that extra caution is needed for the safety of our community, which has to take priority.
We hope that people will be understanding of the impact of this decision on the event organiser and his team.
It will be important for us to debrief with the organisers around impacts, and to consider opportunities to improve council’s processes in this changing environment and look at how we can support the sustainability of key events which are important to our community and the district.
Read the statement from event organisers HERE