Quake damage forces cancellation of running champs

Race organisers say the decision to cancel the national road-running championships was "a no-brainer" after the earthquake "munted" the Spencer Park course.

The committee, headed by race manager John Gamblin, made the call to scratch the event for the first time in its history at 8.30am on Saturday after inspecting the 1.7-kilometre course.

"The roads were totally munted," said Athletics Canterbury cross-country and road committee member Daniel Reese, who was at the course with Gamblin at 7am.

"Parts of the road were raised a foot off the ground ... it would have become a hurdles race."

Reese said 355 athletes were due to compete in Christchurch, including entrants "from Auckland to as far south as Invercargill".

Many arrived in Christchurch on Friday night, but some were due to fly in on race day. A walk event was due to start at 9am, with running races starting at 11am, culminating in the senior men's and women's 10km races at 2.35pm.

It was unlikely the championship could have been held anyway, once the civil emergency was declared, Reese said.

Meanwhile, damaged facilities at Porritt Park forced the New Zealand men's hockey team to cancel two matches against Canterbury at the weekend. Flooding and a hole in the pitch were caused by Saturday morning's earthquake, which rocked Christchurch.

Black Sticks coach Shane McLeod inspected the ground and realised there was no chance of playing the final two of the three matches.

"It was a bit surreal, really," he said.

"We just didn't expect the ground would be affected at all, but there was flooding at one end and a large indentation where part of the ground had fallen in."

The Black Sticks had organised their matches as part of their buildup for next month's Commonwealth Games. The players were forced to relocate to St Bede's College to train instead, before flying to Auckland yesterday to prepare for two games against Korea tomorrow and on Wednesday.

Other outdoor sports cancelled their fixtures on Saturday as Canterbury sports bodies assessed earthquake damage to their grounds and facilities.

Rugby League Park, in Addington, is closed until it gets the all-clear from the Christchurch City Council.

Canterbury Rugby League general manager Graeme Sole said the league had to postpone their junior finals and three senior finals on Saturday.

Two South Island championship games – the Canterbury 19s v Southland in Invercargill and Canterbury A v West Coast in Greymouth – were also cancelled.

Sole was confident the club finals could go ahead on Saturday if the council cleared the park by Friday.

Mainland Football also cancelled all weekend fixtures in Christchurch. Chief executive Mike Coggan said the administration building at English Park had moved "10 to 15 centimetres" and would be closed until it had been assessed by engineers.

- © Fairfax NZ News