RIP The Cold Duck Rally

[jellywrestler]

Cold Duck Rally

20 hours ago

After much deliberation and thought due to ongoing and increasing difficulties in, organization, legal and sponsorship issues.



COLDDUCK 2013 will not be happening.



After 21 years of repeatedly successful and back to back COLDDUCKS we have ground to a halt due to burgeoning legal and overall cost issues.



Keeping the cost of a rally down to an affordable level for punters and party faithful has always been high on our agenda and building permits (yes we require one now to put up the marquee) professional security guards ( for alcohol fuelled functions catering for more than 500 punters) have all but killed the ‘DUCK/goose.



In the past we have relied upon volunteer workers and club members to man the bar, kitchen and gates. COLDDUCK 2012



was the first year when kitchen staff had to be paid.



These costs along with increased insurance and alcohol costs, permits, and security have made it all but impossible to help a needy charitable organization with our left over cash and that’s what it was all about.



We thank all sponsors past and present, the party faithful who challenged the weather and distances travelled, all the helpers who gave time to volunteer their labour and in so doing put on the 21 years of back to back COLDDUCKS and made it possible for us, as a club, to donate cash to worthy recipients such as The Child Cancer Foundation, Christchurch earthquake appeal, Westpac helicopter, New Zealand Hospice, SPCA, Lowe Walker Helicopter and others.

[Grant`]

That's a real shame, i never had opportunity to do one of these events.

[davereid]

After 21 years of repeatedly successful and back to back COLDDUCKS we have ground to a halt due to burgeoning legal and overall cost issues.Keeping the cost of a rally down to an affordable level for punters and party faithful has always been high on our agenda and building permits (yes we require one now to put up the marquee) professional security guards ( for alcohol fuelled functions catering for more than 500 punters) have all but killed the ‘DUCK/goose.In the past we have relied upon volunteer workers and club members to man the bar, kitchen and gates. COLDDUCK 2012 was the first year when kitchen staff had to be paid. These costs along with increased insurance and alcohol costs, permits, and security have made it all but impossible to help a needy charitable organization with our left over cash and that’s what it was all about. We thank all sponsors past and present, the party faithful who challenged the weather and distances travelled, all the helpers who gave time to volunteer their labour and in so doing put on the 21 years of back to back COLDDUCKS and made it possible for us, as a club, to donate cash to worthy recipients such as The Child Cancer Foundation, Christchurch earthquake appeal, Westpac helicopter, New Zealand Hospice, SPCA, Lowe Walker Helicopter and others.

The New Zealand I grew up in won't exist soon. Only the new sanitised version will.

The club BBQ, cycle race, sailing regatta, bike rally, homemade preserves, nanas pork sausages, all made illegal (or at least realistically illegal) by the safety Nazis.

The kids slide will be closed, the jungle gym is now only 5 ft high, and everybody with a penis is a kiddy fiddler.

My beer will be labelled to tell me its beer aka bad, smokes will be illegal, and I will have to wear a life jacket in the bath.

We will still die. Of boredom I expect.

Thanks to you and the team for putting together some good times, and assembling a bit of loot for charities over the years.

[scumdog]

Shee-it, you haven't exactly got a lot of rallies up in the North Island as it is...

[Headbanger]

Damn shame.

Are you going to try and resurrect it at some stage?

If your starting point is covering your costs then all is not lost, You could give people the opportunity to donate to charity at point of sale, or entry.

If you made people aware of how closly the event is tied to the charity donation then I would imagine almost everyone would cough up some coin.

well, I wouldn't, Im a tight fucker and I avoid places that happen to be frozen.

[yungatart]

Pretty sad state of affairs when something run for charity has to cease, as the cost of compliance makes it no longer viable.
The Cold Duck is one of those things I was going to do 'some day'...I have missed my chance....

[MSTRS:Me]

Tis the old story.
Make something hard enough to achieve by increasing the effort/expense on the organisers and eventually they won't...
A crying shame, really. As DaveReid says...this is not the NZ we grew up in. I'll add that it's not the NZ we want/ed for our kids and grandkids.

[dogsnbikes]

FFS thats one of mine and dodgys annual must do's ....

Real shame its getting harder to have a good time ..

[Headbanger]

Corporate sponsorship to cover the cost of the marquee?

Limit attendance to 499 to remove the need for security?
















no booze?

[Pieyed]

Corporate sponsorship to cover the cost of the marquee?

Limit attendance to 499 to remove the need for security?

no booze?

No booze? Are you kidding?

[pete376403]

Does that mean the Brass Monkey, Cold Kiwi etc will be under similar threat?

This is the way we will loose all our freedoms and liberties, one little cut at a time, all in the name of "Health & Safety"

[Coldrider]

All rallys with an onlicence have been under threat for 3 or more years ago. Rally goers getting injured on site, riding away in the morning with a skinfull, and crashing etc on the way home are putting rallys at extreme risk.
Not withstanding the cold duck, I think there are other things going on there.

[cc rider]

Does that mean the Brass Monkey, Cold Kiwi etc will be under similar threat?

That's poo... I did the Cold Duck in 2010 wif Reemit when I was over from OZ. Had a hoot & met a gaggle of KBers.
Brass Monkey is on my list this year.

[dangerous]

building permits (yes we require one now to put up the marquee) professional security guards ( for alcohol fuelled functions catering for more than 500 punters)

was the first year when kitchen staff had to be paid.

These costs along with increased insurance and alcohol costs, permits, and security have made it all but impossible to help a needy charitable organization with our left over cash and that’s what it was all about.

having done in excess of 100 rallys, Im curious to know this...
why did you 'have' to pay staff?
what was your entry fee?
is line one a new and mandatory regulation?

rallys down this way cost 30-35$ and most make a killing

[sinfull]

There will obviously be more to it !

Rumours are abundant !

One of the biggest things would have to be, that the same blokes/esses would have been organizing the rally every year (every club has the doers and the sit back and know besters)
Organizing one of these year after year would be a drain on any man/women and after a while become a bloody chore you'd rather not !

First few would be to get started (probably at a loss) next few would be to raise money, buy land, equipment etc, next few would be to cream it yadda yadda , then it gets bigger and bigger every year and becomes a handfull to run, porta loos don't cut it no more so the coin is spent on loos etc

After this many years there would be the issue of club members having had enough of it, then what ? volunteers ? They might enjoy helping for a year or so, but then start thinkin fuck i'm doing this for nix and the club makes money soooo, hey cut me in boys

Sooooo what have we got now, a business yeah ? Wow ok, so tax man becomes involved, then come the beaurocrats (sp) council wants it's cut and puts rules in place so permits are needed ! All of a sudden a rally that no one really wants to organise (but have been doing so for the last few years purely out of respect to the party faithful that have supported year after year) becomes a cunt of an idea !

Me< i know i'd rather not !

This is purely speculation on my part of course, i know nothing !