The trolleys were lined up well before the 9am start of scrutineering at the old Blackpool school on Saturday.
With the Great Gulf News Trolley Derby just over a week away, trolley owners were required to have their creations thoroughly checked to make sure they comply with race regulations.
There was a tense moment when Lance Crosland’s gyrocopter trolley was balanced on the scales, which fortunately revealed that at 65kg the machine was well within the 70kg limit.
Amongst the builders was 10-year-old Bodie Vercoe who has been working on his trolley since June.
Bodie’s mum Kirstin Little says he wanted to build a trolley but they needed to find someone to help and Bodie thought their neighbour Team NZ mechanical engineer Luke McAllum might be just the person. Luke helped with the design and building and Bodie did “the grunt work”, says Kirstin.
Official scrutineer Bruce Beaumont said the overall standard was good and about 75 percent of the trolleys were up to standard. Of those that weren’t quite there, he said it was no fault of the people who had built them. The main issue was with traditional trolleys which use a single front axel and a rope handle.
“The problem is they need to use both hands to steer with the rope which makes it difficult to use the brake,” says Bruce.
Fellow scrutineer David Waters had a good solution for the problem, which was to use a lawnmower handle, says Bruce, adding that a generous offer of help has come from Jamie Burgess.
“He’s offered to help anyone needing assistance to get their trolley up to standard. It’s really great community spirit,” says Bruce.• Erin Johnson
