Dec 8, 2017 -  Switzerland’s national pursuit cycling team will make its debut at the 2018 New Zealand Cycle Classic held in the Wairarapa next January. While some of the riders have competed in New Zealand before, this will be the first time the team has competed in the iconic race, the only Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) 2.2 accredited tour staged in New Zealand which has been an annual sporting fixture for the past 30 years. The team will be led by experienced rider Thery Schir, who competed at the 2016 Olympic Games, finished fourth in the Madison at the…

Nov 23, 2017  -  Legendary hedge fund manager and multi-billionaire Julian Roberston put together one of the most luxurious golfing vacations in his beloved New Zealand – and we got the inside look writes Elena Holodny for Business Insider US.  On the Tiger Tour, vacationers can see both New Zealand’s North and South Islands over the course of nine nights on Roberston’s three properties: The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, and Matakauri Lodge. Roberston, 85, a pioneer of the modern hedge fund industry, is best known for founding the investment firm Tiger Management Corp, one of…

Nov 21, 2017  -  An exciting new era in America’s Cup racing has been unveiled today as the concept for the AC75, the class of boat to be sailed in the 36th America’s Cup is released illustrating a bold and modern vision for high performance fully foiling monohull racing yachts. The Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa design teams have spent the last four months evaluating a wide range of monohull concepts. Their goals have been to design a class that will be challenging and demanding to sail, rewarding the top level of skill for the crews; this concept…

2 Nov []  Garmin New Zealand has announced the Descent Mk1, a dive computer housed in a watch-style design offering surface GPS navigation with rich colour mapping. Designed for recreational, technical and free divers, the Descent Mk1 allows divers to plan their underwater adventure right on the watch and use GPS waypoints to automatically mark dive entry and exit points. The Descent Mk1 also offers multiple dive modes, 3-axis compass, in-dive data, as well as multi-sport functions like wrist-based heart rate, activity profiles and automatic dive log uploads via the Garmin Connect Mobile app to Garmin’s online dive community. “No…

26 Oct: From the Mantra5 Blog - What initially began as a six month project has turned into a life changing experience for all involved. The Hydrofoil Bike was nominated, and won, Gold in the ‘Concept’ category at the 2017 New Zealand Best Design Awards.   The win was great piece of validation for our design team. The whirlwind of attention we have had as a result of the awards has been all the more encouraging – especially given that was only our most recent prototype. Rest assured we will be entering the new and improved model into the 2018 Best…

Centuries of formality, tradition and etiquette are the attributes that many young people normally see as reasons to bypass the game of golf. The perception that golf is also mostly for the elders on the higher rungs of the corporate ladder might be precisely why the young and ambitious should consider practicing their swing. Trends worldwide show that golf is a game which is under enormous pressure to gain and retain participants, especially of a younger demographic. New Zealand Golf continues to meet the pressure head on through its ongoing efforts to keep the game accessible to all. New Zealand…

It's the Asia Cup and Pakistan are playing their arch-rivals India. They need nine to win from 4 balls with one wicket in hand and 'Boom Boom’ Shahid Afridi is facing Ravichandran Ashwin. A short ball on off-stump is thumped with mighty force by Afridi. The ball catches the outside edge and sails over the cover boundary. 73m six. 3 off 3 now. Another short ball, this time on the stumps. Afridi once again edges the pull but the ball travels over long-on and Pakistan win. The Pakistani fans erupt into celebrations as Lala has done it yet again for…

 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.— U.S. industry veteran Paul Lew has been named CEO of the newly restructured Edco cycling company, now based in Arizona. The historic brand — it was formed in 1867 in Couvet, Switzerland, and began making bike parts in 1902 — was purchased about ten years ago by Rob van Hoek and partners and has been operating as Edco Engineering BV in the Netherlands until recently. In early summer, a major supplier filed a bankruptcy suit against Edco Engineering BV for failure to meet its financial obligations. This filing was approved by the Netherlands government in August and the…

New Zealand is seeing a substantial increase in demand from the older ageing population for fitness, exercise and personal trainers, according to ExerciseNZ chief executive Richard Beddie. He says they now know not only that exercise is needed as people we age, but also why this is the case. There are many providers catering for the ageing market, something that was rare 15 years ago. Waikato University health and behaviour doctoral candidate Wendy Sweet says today’s ageing population, especially in the developed world, have many advantages over previous generations – not least access to research into ways to stave off…

The Twin Shift mounts on the end of a flat handlebar, and automatically moves both derailleurs ... It can be a tricky business, selecting the proper gear combinations on a dual-derailleur bike. You always want to avoid "cross-chaining," a situation in which the chain is stressed by being placed at too much of a lateral angle (such as if it were running from the outermost chainring to the innermost sprocket, or vice versa). French inventor Rolland Norbert is attempting to address the situation, with his Twin Shift. The grip-style shifter mounts on the end of a flat handlebar. With a…

Emirates Team New Zealand and 'Auld Mug' were welcomed at Emirates Group headquarters by Sir Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, and Gary Chapman, president Group Services and dnata, along with Jeremy Clarke Watson, New Zealand Ambassador to the UAE Ahead of their highly-anticipated welcome in Auckland, the winning crew of Emirates Team New Zealand arrived in Dubai, home of main sponsors Emirates, on Monday to proudly celebrate their America's Cup win. Emirates Team New Zealand and 'Auld Mug' were welcomed at Emirates Group headquarters by Sir Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, and Gary Chapman, president Group Services and dnata, along…

We’ve all been there, driving down a one-lane street, backed up behind a cyclist that blocks our ambition of hitting the speed limit. Seriously, bikes limp along at 10 mph and hit what—30 mph—max? Well, no. How does 90 mph sound? That’s right. Thanks to the engineering minds of Aerovelo and its bike, Eta, cyclists could theoretically complain about passing that big bead on your high performance vehicle. Aerovelo Cofounders Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert lead their team of University of Toronto (U of T) engineering students and alumni to design, simulate, optimize, build and pilot this escape pod-encased bike…

 Chris Jefferies reports in Boat International that the 24.38 metre maxi racing yacht Lion New Zealand has checked into Yachting Developments for an extensive winter overhaul. The works, which began on May 15 with her haul-out, are described as a “top-to-bottom refit”. Designed by Ron Holland and launched in 1985 for Sir Peter Blake, Lion New Zealand raced in the 1985/86 Whitbread Round The World Race. She was purchased in 2008 by the NZ Sailing Trust, which uses her to provide sailing experiences for young New Zealanders. In the past nine years, Lion New Zealand has covered more than 200,000…

Air New Zealand and New Zealand Rugby are searching the world for two truly crazy-about-rugby All Blacks Apprentices to join the All Blacks as they take on Manu Samoa in Auckland on 16 June. These volunteer positions are the first of their kind within the All Blacks camp. The apprentices will stay at the All Blacks’ hotel and assist the team both in preparation for the match and on game day, including: · assisting in the setting up of the team’s Captain’s Run on the day before the game before joining the team for lunch.· attending an exclusive question and…

Tomorrow Liam Malone will graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce from Victoria University adding another another hard earned award to his growing list of acheivments.  There were a few distractions on the way, not least competing in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Liam’s next step is to become the fastest person on the planet. “I’m going to be the fastest person on the planet, legs real or not. It’s important to do things that shape the future and this would be one of those things,” Liam said in a recent Victoria University press release.   So technology around…

Treble Cone is proud to announce that a new snowmaking system will be in place for the 2017 season. The new hardware and controls are designed to enable Treble Cone to open on schedule even in seasons – such as 2016 – with minimal natural snowfall. The newly-installed pipes, pumps and snow guns will service Easy Rider from the top of Home Basin all the way down to the base lodge, as well as providing security around snow cover for Main Street. This will be new terrain for snow making at TC and will be a turnkey system provided by…

Rory McIlroy on the new rules:  "I think golf's emphasis on the rules can sometimes turn people away from it," Rory McIlroy said. "To modernize and make it simple is a good thing. With what's happened in the last couple of years, with some rulings and high-profile things that have happened at crucial stages in tournaments, people who look at that and might want to get into the game say, 'You know what? It's too complicated.'"  Golf’s two governing bodies released a draft of modern rules Wednesday aimed at bringing common sense to what can be a complicated sport. The…

Over 600 players and more than 3,000 fans had a new experience at one of the USA’s largest junior rugby tournaments, thanks to one of a kind portable Junior Rugby Packaposts designed by New Zealand company Packaworld International. The Rhinos Rugby Stomp was hosted by Rhinos Rugby Club on Sunday 29 January at Great Park in the city of Irvine, California. The tournament featured Under 14 age group teams from nine clubs across California. Junior rugby is often played without posts, particularly in the US, where many sports fields are set up for other sports.Rhinos Rugby Program Director Elvis Seveali’i,…

Organisers believe a reconfigured Millbrook Resort will provide an exciting finish to the upcoming ISPS Handa New Zealand Open in Queenstown. Millbrook Resort, which comprises three nine-hole configurations, is the tournament co-host for the 93rd ISPS Handa New Zealand Open on 9-12 March. Two signature holes from the Coronet Nine and the Arrow Nine have been combined as the finishing holes, to maximise the atmosphere created by the amphitheatre surrounding the Millhouse Restaurant. “The new layout will create a superb finish and ensure a spectacular spectator experience,” said Millbrook Resort’s Brian Spicer. The tournament organisers have turned the current final…

New Zealand golf Association - New Local Rule Eliminates Penalty for a Player Who Accidentally Causes a Ball to Move on the Putting Green 9 December 2016, St Andrews, Scotland and Far Hills, NJ, USA: The R&A and the USGA today announced the introduction of a new Local Rule that eliminates the penalty when a ball is accidentally moved on the putting green. The Local Rule will be available for any committee in charge of a competition to use starting 1 January 2017. It will be adopted by The R&A and the USGA in all of their championships, qualifying competitions…