The NZIODA committee met last night to discuss this weekend’s Interislander Regatta and, after considerable discussion, made the difficult decision to cancel the ranking element of this event. We know this will disappoint many, particularly those who have committed significant time and resources to travelling to Picton, but felt this was prudent given the fact the country is presently in a state of emergency and government advice is to limit non-essential travel. Compounding this is the fact numerous ferry crossings and flights have been cancelled with little certainty around when these might resume as normal.
It has been distressing to see the impact the cyclone has had on a large number of communities and our thoughts go out to those badly impacted and isolated. The committee does not want to add to the considerable stress many are already feeling by retaining the ranking element of the Interislander Regatta.
This means April’s National Championships at the Wakatere Boating Club will be the only ranking event for the 2022/23 season and NZIODA travelling teams will be selected from the results of the Nationals. In the unlikely event the Nationals is adversely affected by weather, or any other unforeseen circumstance, and a series is not completed, the NZIODA committee reserve the right to select travelling teams based on past results.
The Queen Charlotte Yacht Club are committed to hosting this weekend’s Interislander Regatta. We fully appreciate the enormous amount of work that goes into organising events of this nature and also know QCYC will deliver a quality regatta. We are also grateful to those families who have already travelled or still intend to travel to Picton. We would like to thank the QCYC for all the hard work that has gone into the Interislander, which has long been one of the highlights of the junior sailing calendar and this year will be no exception.
We hope you are all doing OK, wherever you may be, and look forward to seeing you at an event soon.
Kind regards
Matt Harker
NZIODA President