| Colgate Games |
| OUR RULES |
This year the Fairfield club has a total of 29 athletes competing in the Colgate Games in Wanganui. It is a long way to travel and an expensive exercise to get our athletes to the Colgate Games. With this in mind your Club has come up with a number of tactics which we believe will help you make these Games as enjoyable and successful as possible. The following are some of the tactics/rules we ask that all athletes and parents/supporters adhere to. This and any future information will also be posted on our Club website.
Accommodation: The club accommodation this year is at the Avenue Hotel in Wanganui. During our stay each family or individual athlete will be responsible for providing their own breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is available in the hotel but the cost of this is not included in the room charge, therefore, if you choice to use the Hotel restaurant it will be at your expense. Lunch is available from a shop at the games venue. Each evening the club will be supplying the evening meal for those who chose this option, this will be a BBQs based meal in the Hotel grounds.
The Hotel proprietors have asked that no phone calls are made to the Hotel after 9:30pm. If anyone does need to contact us, the two Team managers will have cell phones operating that can be called at any time.
Graham Brown: 025-786731 Mike McGrath: 027-4775110
Travelling to Wanganui: The long trip to Wanganui will be both mentally and physically tiring for our athletes. To help minimise the effects of this travel it is imperative that you take a break at least every 1.5hrs. This break should include carrying out some simple stretching exercises followed by a 200 – 400m jog. For those athletes travelling on the bus, this will be compulsory.
Healthy Eating: To ensure maximum performance from our athletes, it is essential that good healthy food is consumed both in the build up to and during the Games.
From the time the athletes leave home until the completion of the Games on Sunday 6th Jan there will be total ban on all sweets and junk food, this includes, chips, lollies, chocolate, soft drinks, takeaways etc. It is a proven fact that this type of food will hinder the performance of the athletes. There a numerous healthier alternatives such as museli/energy bars, fruit, sport drinks available. We would appreciate the assistance of parents/supporters in this matter.
For further information please contact either of the Team Managers.
Drinking: Just as important as healthy eating is the consumption of the appropriate type and amount of fluid. It is likely to be very hot and this means it’s essential that athletes keep their fluid levels up. Good old water is recommended, but there are some very good sport drinks available also. The Team Managers will be available to advise you on the right drinks.
Sun Safety: We anticipate it being very hot and sunny during the Games, therefore good protection from the sun is essential. Unnecessary exposure to the sun can be both personally harmful (sun burn) and very energy sapping. We would prefer you saved all your energy for your events. All athletes are to ensure that they are adequately sun-blocked & wear an appropriate sun hat when out in the sun. We recommend you all minimise the time you spend out in the sun.
Use of Motel Swimming Pools: We are extremely lucky to have an outdoor pool at the Hotel, this will be great for cooling off after a day at the Games. We do encourage you to use this pool, but please respect others staying at the Hotel who may also wish to use it.
Evening Scheduled Events: During our stay at the Games we will stick to the following schedule each night:
Wearing of Spikes: Spiked shoes may only be warn during competition, spiked shoes must be removed following the completion of your event and before leaving the arena.
For safety reason, you can be disqualified for not following this spike rule.
Club Officials: During the Games the club will have a number of officials to help the athletes and parents, these include:
Club Area: Unlike other years there is insufficient room available at the grounds for Clubs to erect tents, this year we will have a designated area in the grandstand which will be the official home for our athletes. It is essential that all athletes & parents alike threat this area with respect. We will all need to share this space, so lets all try and keep this area tidy. If athletes move away from this area, please ensure you inform one of the Team/Area Managers prior to leaving. Note: The designated club area is a smoke free zone.
Warm-up/down: The Club will not have a dedicated Warm-up Manager, therefore it will be the responsible of each athlete to ensure he/she is appropriately warmed-up/down. Should you require assistance with your warm-up/down schedule, please ask either one of the Team Managers or Athlete Manager. The Club believes that the warm-up/down is so important that we have again made it compulsory for all our athletes to warm-up/down for each event.
We hope that these Games are both enjoyable and rewarding for every athlete. Good luck.
Mike McGrath & Graham Brown
Club Team Managers