Racing 2003
Christiania Derby
On Staurday, August 30, Rangatira entered the prestigous Christiania Derby and won the mens open team race and the masters (men & women combined) team race. Our open womens team came a very creditable fourth.
This was the third year in a row that we have won the Masters event thanks to the leadership of Mark Fairley. Mark was also the fastest club member in our open mens team.
| Mens Team | Masters Team | Womens Team |
| Mark Fairley | Mark Fairley | Maria Oosterbaan |
| Rob Yallop | Trish Oosterbaan | Trish Oosterbaan |
| Stefan Flury | Reinier Linderman | Erica Esdaile |
| Michael McCollam | David Bettie | Gina Esdaile |
Haensli Cup
This race has been around for many years in several different formats. Walter Haensli himself is still around today at the age of 85. As a Swiss ski instructor, Walter was involved in the early development of the Whakapapa ski field in the 1950s.
The race has been revived by Ruapehu Ski Club and was scheduled to be run on Saturday, August 2nd. Due to high winds [most unusual for Mt Ruapehu, not] the race was postponed and run on Sunday, August 3rd in excellent conditions.
Rangatira entered one senior team consisting of Maria and trish Oosterbaan, Mark Fairly, Rob Yallop and Stefan Flury. The team gained second place, with Taupo first and RSC second. Stefan, who is Maria’s freestyle ski instructor (freestyle is where you spend more time off the snow than on it whilst travelling at great speed down the mountain), was the fastest man. Stefan comes from the same area in Switzerland that Walter Haensli lives in today.
This report was adapted from Trish Oosterbaan’s report in the July/August edition of the club magazine.
Posted by Rob Yallop on 08 October 2003 at 12:07 AM