A decision to axe the first day of a junior rugby tournament in Queenstown yesterday involving more than 1000 players has been labelled crazy, with organisers saying they had played in far worse conditions.
The first day of the annual New Zealand Junior Rugby Festival was cancelled at the 11th hour due to ground conditions.
Forty-two junior rugby teams from across the country arrived in Queenstown for this year’s three-day tournament, with parents and siblings in tow.
The tournament, in its 15th year, was to have kicked off at the Queenstown Events Centre yesterday following an official opening ceremony.
However, event founder Tyrone Campbell, of Global Games, said he was informed by Queenstown Lakes District Council staff at 8am the tournament could not go ahead.
In response to an inquiry from the Otago Daily Times, a council spokesman said the decision was made due to ‘‘ground conditions, rain, and more wild weather in the forecast’’.
Late yesterday afternoon, the council agreed to let the tournament go ahead today, from about 8.30am, primarily at the Queenstown Events Centre.
However, one field was out of action, so some games would be played at the Queenstown Recreation Ground.
Mr Campbell said he had run about 60 such tournaments, all over New Zealand ‘‘and a region has never, ever cancelled on us – and we’ve played in far worse conditions’’.
‘‘If it’s dangerous … we’re never going to put kids out.
‘‘We’ve had to cut days in half because of hypothermic conditions, but we’ve made that call.
‘‘But never a council saying, ‘No, you can’t play because you’re going to damage the grounds’, because you look at the bigger picture.
‘‘The fields will come back in spring. Let the kids play – it’s crazy.’’
Mr Campbell said for some of the children involved in this weekend’s tournament, it was ‘‘literally their trip of a lifetime’’.
‘‘They’re not going to be NPC or Super Rugby players.
‘‘A bunch of these kids will never come to Queenstown again for the rest of their lives, and they’ve fundraised their guts out all year [to be here].’’
He was also concerned about the ongoing implications of the council’s decision, believing it would be hard to get some of the clubs to return to Queenstown for future tournaments.
Games are expected to continue tomorrow, and will be followed by a prize-giving.