In March 2019 we had the opportunity to take over fundraising from the existing tour group which were heading to America and Canada for a 16 day rugby tour. We had a meeting calling all rugby boys at that time aged between 12 to 15 who would be keen to go on a tour set for April 2021, the response was huge ,over 30 players put their hand up and a good number of parents also keen and committed.
The main fundraiser is covering Maize silage, and grass silage stacks for dairy farmers. With Morrinsville quite rightly named Cream of the Crop, completely surrounded by dairy farms, there is no shortage of work. The job entails covering the stack with a cover and putting tyres completely over the stack to hold cover down and managed by tour coach Carl Silvester who attended every stack, bar the one when he had to get a tooth extracted, To a farmer and staff this can take up valuable time so they call us in to do the job.
With a good gang anywhere from 12 -26 people the stacks are covered within an hour depending on size. The group meet each night at 5:15pm outside the college and head off to cover multiple stacks in the district, we cover an area from Gordonton , Patetonga, Te Aroha and Cambridge. At the peak of the season the team are out till after 10pm most nights with the odd night hitting Midnight. 1900 Tonnes being our biggest night. Earning $2 a ton it is a good money maker, but it is not the easiest of jobs. This fundraiser takes a massive commitment and dedication from the entire group to keep covering stacks each and every night, and weekends from the end of February through to mid-April. This team has done a lot of other jobs around the district from picking up sticks and rocks in paddocks to putting up Horse Stables for a big event in Cambridge, to picking up hay in the summer.
With COVID locking the country down end of March 2020 the team also had to stop, The group committee also had to make a call on what this will do to our plans. With Australia being out of bounds, a tour of South Island was booked. This group will fly into Dunedin for 2 nights, play a game and also watch the Highlanders V Chiefs game at Forsyth bar stadium. Then head to Queenstown and base ourselves there for 7 nights with another 2 games in that time. With all the hard work this group has achieved in the past 2 years they have earned themselves a great and fun filled tour, including Bungies, Skydives, Shot over, Zip line, Mountain biking, Fear Factor, Paintball, Clay shooting, Bubble soccer, also including 3 games vs Tieri, Dunstan, and Whakatipu.
A big thank you has to go out to the boys and the parents that have made this fundraiser a success, and also the group committee that has done a tremendous job of getting this itinerary and tour across the line.
FACTS Total Tonnage for 2 years 70,000+ Bales of Hay 8000+
Total $ fundraiser earned $155,000+
Article added: Wednesday 07 April 2021
Waikato Rugby
PO Box 9507
FMG Stadium Waikato Level 3,
Gate 5 / 128 Seddon Road, Whitiora 3204
Hamilton
P 021 704 944 E admin@mooloo.co.nz
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