At Sunday’s awards dinner for the 2011 edition of Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand, race organisers announced the creation of a new trust designed to help Ironman athletes affected by the devastating earthquake in Christchurch just under two weeks ago.
Initial donations to the trust were made by World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), the Active Network and the City of Taupo, totalling more than NZ$60,000 (US$44,000 / €32,000).
New Zealand pro triathletes Cameron Brown, Terenzo Bozzone, Samantha Warriner and Joanna Lawn then walked through the ceremony with buckets, taking cash donations. (Race announcer Mike Reilly made the first donation of five US$100 bills.)
The trust was announced after the 21 Christchurch finishers (22 of the 26 registered started the race) were brought to the stage. A video of the devastation in Christchurch was then shown.
On-line donations to the trust are being accepted. Further details about donating are available at the Ironman New Zealand website www.ironman.co.nz.
All proceeds to the Ironman New Zealand Charitable Trust will be used to assist Christchurch members of the Ironman family in their time of need. Active.com has waived all processing fees with 100% of the donation sent to the trust.
