New Zealand Community Trust is pleased to announce a grant of $11,700 to Athletics Waikato Bay of Plenty towards starting equipment for Porritt Stadium, a large sports park in the Hamilton suburb of Chartwell, with a long history as the home ground for the Hamilton Wanderers Football Club.

The number one field is surrounded by a national grade athletics track, embankments and a grandstand. These facilities are used by the Waikato Athletics Association and regular events are held there at local, regional and national levels.

Committee member Steve Rees-Jones commented, “We are extremely grateful for the recent financial support from NZCT. The grant awarded to Athletics Waikato Bay of Plenty has allowed us to purchase new starting equipment for use at Porritt Stadium. In recent years, Porritt has hosted many athletics meetings at national and international level, including New Zealand Championships and the IAAF permit meeting, Porritt Classic. Our aging infrastructure was becoming an issue that would have prevented us hosting those meetings, taking competitive opportunities away from our athletes.

“The new starting equipment means that we can continue to host high-level athletics events at Porritt Stadium. Over the next few months, the equipment will be used at the 2020 New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Tauranga, 2021 Porritt Classic and 2021 North Island Secondary Schools Championships. This will benefit thousands of athletes from school children through to New Zealand’s top elite athletes.”

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