Mascots Face Off at Taranaki Rippa World Cup Final

The ultimate mascot race will be held at Yarrow Stadium for the 10 teams representing their schools at the Taranaki Rippa World Cup Final this Wednesday (29 June).

“The mascots’ course will be quite a spectacle with a large bouncy castle, water balloons, tackle bags and jumping sacks, among other things – it should be a lot of fun for the kids and those that want to come along to watch,” says New Plymouth District Council Manager Rugby World Cup 2011 Jenny Mills.

“Then after the race, the Rippa Rugby Final will take place where the winner will compete to represent Taranaki at the Rippa World Cup at North Harbour Stadium.”

Mascot races have been used at various sporting events around the world for example, the Twenty20 cup cricket final in the UK, which was the inspiration behind the mascot races in Taranaki.

“They are a great source of entertainment for both the crowd and participants and a great way of having fun with the RWC 2011 adopt a second team initiative,” says Ms Mills.

As part of the Rippa World Cup, the Taranaki Rugby Football Union (TRFU) organised regional Rippa Rugby tournaments throughout Taranaki during May and June to find the 10 best teams in the region to compete in the Taranaki final on Wednesday 29 July at Yarrow Stadium. The team that wins the final will represent Taranaki at the Rippa World Cup held at North Harbour Stadium, one month before RWC 2011 kicks off.

This tournament is for year six primary school children with each team of 10 comprising five boys and five girls. The 20 teams that reach the final in Auckland will not only represent their region, but also a nation playing in RWC 2011.

To encourage the region to embrace the spirit of RWC 2011 and show support for the five nations visiting Taranaki (Wales, Ireland, USA, Russia and Namibia), New Plymouth District Council has worked with TRFU to deliver mascot races at each Regional Rippa Tournament in New Plymouth, Opunake, Stratford, Hawera and Lepperton.

Each team competing in the tournament has been encouraged to nominate a pupil to ‘adopt a second team’, dress as one of the five visiting nations, and race through an obstacle course. The winning mascot from each tournament has won RWC 2011 rugby balls and a rugby jersey signed by the Taranaki rugby team for their school, and family passes to the aquatic centre in New Plymouth.

Each team playing in the Taranaki Rippa World Cup final, Vogeltown, Auroa, St Joseph’s, Tikorangi, Hawera, Mangorei, Kaponga, Stratford, Lepperton and Tawhiti Schools, will provide a mascot to race through the course with prizes for the best dressed mascot, winner of the race, and player of the day up for grabs.

Following the Taranaki Rippa World Cup Final is the Taranaki pre-season game against Bay of Plenty at 2pm.