Clowning around at the More FM Day on the Bay

Sunday, 26 June 2011, 6:45 pm
Press Release: Queenstown Winter Festival

Media release from American Express Queenstown Winter Festival
26 June 2011

Clowning around at the More FM Day on the Bay – the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest winter party goes off!

Forget about the circus – Queenstown took the biscuit today (Sunday 26 June) for extreme entertainment as high jinks, high adrenalin and hilarity swept the resort in a series of wild and wacky sports as part of the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival.

In day three of the programme thousands of spectators packed out Queenstown’s Marine Parade keen to get a glimpse of the More FM Birdman competition, which featured a cardboard army tank from Pack and Send’s A-Team shooting over the enemy, Aladdin and his Genie on a magic carpet and Hyundai Code’s Angel falling from grace into the deep. But it was the anonymous men known collectively as ‘Bounce’, dressed in orange gimp suits and armed with moonhoppers, who won first prize for the ‘best Birdman’ entry.

Then the action moved to the beach where 5 jetboats took part in the dare-devil Air New Zealand Holiday Jet Sprints. With V8s roaring, the fastest boat through the challenging slalom course was reigning champions Skippers Canyon Jet. Second place went to Kawarau Jet with Shotover Jet in third place.

The next race was powered by arms and legs as the brand new Quiksilver Paddle Board race took to the water. Winners were local hard men Triple S from the Alpine Boards Riders Club – Mike Stewart, Andrew (Slappy) Salek and Bas Smith.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

A bunch of fearless guys and one girl donned swimwear for the Budget Rent-a-Car Splash & Dash which included a 50 metre swim in the freezing waters of Lake Wakatipu followed by a dash down the beach. Winner was Mark Wilson of Queenstown while Emily Cant of Christchurch picked up a prize as the only female in the event.

The final event of the day was the American Hundy 500 where competitors in male and female divisions completed a tricky obstacle course in and out of the water. Swedish visitor Charlotta Svenungsson took first place in the women’s event with Thijs Hubber of Christchurch streaking ahead of the competition to claim the cash in the men’s.

Festival Director Simon Green said hundreds of “good sports” had embraced their wild side to put on some priceless entertainment for festival-goers’ enjoyment.

“The Day on the Bay is always a real crowd-pleaser and the participation of contestants makes it so much fun.”

Earlier in the day, the less physical among festival goers enjoyed a delectable lakeside brunch at Queenstown’s newest 5 star hotel, Hilton Queenstown with entertainment from jazz exponents, Nairobi Trio.

• Continuing to take Queenstowners out of their comfort zone tonight, Mountain Scene presents the Thriller in the Chiller Charity Boxing Night at Queenstown Event Centre where 22 local guys and girls will step into the ring after just 15 weeks of training to raise money for the Bruce Grant Youth Trust.
•
• Tomorrow (Monday 27 June) more comedy is on the way with the cream of New Zealand’s stand up comedians taking to the stage for the Oaks Hotels & resorts Comedy Gala at the American Express Ice Box.

To see the full programme line up and individual event details check out the complete American Express Queenstown Winter Festival calendar online at www.winterfestival.co.nz or pick up a programme at information outlets throughout the region.

Tickets for all events can be bought from TicketDirect online at www.ticketdirect.co.nz, by phone 0800 224 224 (03 450 9110), or in person at the Queenstown Events Centre or Queenstown i-Site (corner of Shotover and Camp streets)*.

Winter Starts Here! From 24 June to 3 July the 2011 American Express Queenstown Winter Festival celebrates 37 years of winter fun and festivities with 10 days of totally outrageous and uniquely Queenstown events. Join us on Facebook, become a Friend of Festival and keep an eye on www.winterfestival.co.nz to be first with the latest news and hot updates. For more information about Queenstown visit www.queenstown-nz.co.nz.

Ticket service fees apply.

ENDS

Festival Background
Since first being staged in 1975 by Queenstowners who thought the arrival of snow was a ‘great excuse for a party’, the Festival has evolved to forge a unique identity as New Zealand’s premier celebration of all things winter. Now an iconic event cemented on New Zealand’s calendar, it attracts 30,000 attendees and injects a whopping $50 million back into the local economy.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you licensed for Scoop?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop without a regular paywall. Join today with plans starting from just $11 per month, and start using Scoop like a Pro.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from Queenstown Winter Festival on InfoPages.

Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

NEW ZEALAND POLITICS

Gordon Campbell: On Abortion’s Role In The US Election

Yesterday, America moved decisively to the right not only politically, but socially and economically. This rightwards shift was evident not merely in the red states and seven “battleground” states – every one of which Trump has almost certainly ended up winning – but also in the Democratic heartland. There was a rise in the Republican share of the vote within every single borough in New York City – as well as in the state strongholds of New Jersey and New York, where (reportedly) the Republican vote was up by nine or ten points.

NZ Labour Party: Labour, Greens And Te Pāti Māori Call On The Prime Minister To Block The Treaty Principles Bill

The three opposition parties are listening to the clear and unified voice of Te Iwi Māori. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is sidelining these voices and ignoring a scathing Waitangi Tribunal report, while pandering to a dangerous, reactionary fringe.

NZ Taxpayers' Union: Has Simon Watts Forgotten Who The Minister Is?

Does he not realise that he is the Minister in charge of the people who perpetrated this travesty? The people who have been affected need to see action, instead of the Minister’s ‘disappointment’.

Department of Conservation: Priority Conservation Projects Open For Donations

Donors can choose to support projects to save the Alborn skink, limestone ecosystems or tara iti/New Zealand fairy tern, through a nature prospectus launched 06 November.

NZ Labour Party: Winston Peters Must Apologise

“Parliament has standards, and Winston Peters fell well short of those,” Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said.

Meat The Need: National Charity Auction To Combat Food Insecurity In New Zealand

With the goal of raising funds to support the delivery of protein-rich meals to over 130 food banks and community organisations across Aotearoa, the auction showcases an exciting range of items and experiences.

Inland Revenue Department: Inland Revenue Stops Using Custom Audience Lists

Prior to the review Inland Revenue has always believed that sufficient work was done to ensure the security of customer details within the hashing and custom-list creation process. However, in response to public concern at having personal details passed to social media platforms without their consent, we will no longer supply de identified, or hashed, customer details to social media platforms.

Join Scoop Pro

Submit News

Become a Member