Tauranga Half receives a significant boost

The Tauranga Half Ironman has received a significant boost with local company – Calley Homes coming on board as the Naming Rights sponsor. The event will be now be known as the Calley Homes Tauranga Half.

This new partnership comes at a perfect time, as the event works towards its 35 th Anniversary on 20 January 2024.

In looking ahead to the 2024 event, Festival Director Julia Tilley said – “we look forward to celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Calley Homes Tauranga Half. The event has been part of the Bay of Plenty summer since 1990, making it one of New Zealand’s longest running and most iconic triathlons. The new partnership with Calley Homes enables us to further grow the quality of the event.”

Calley Homes are a Tauranga based building company with a reputation for high quality renovations and new build homes. Company Director – Johnny Calley is excited at being involved with the event, saying“our business is built on quality partnerships with clients, suppliers and our team, so to partner with this iconic Bay of Plenty event is a natural fit for us.”

Calley is a triathlete himself so knows how special the event is to the New Zealand multisport community. The picturesque setting, and large crowds that line the streets of Mount Maunganui to cheer on the competitors have become a magnet for the country’s multi-sport athletes each January.

The vision for Calley Homes is to elevate the standing of the event, with Johnny Calley saying “we are working with the event organisers to bring an international top world ranked triathlete to the 35th Anniversary event in 2024.”

It is anticipated that the announcement of a world ranked athlete will happen in the next two months, along with which of New Zealand’s elite long distance triathletes will be on the Pilot Bay start line on the 20th of January.

In addition to the elite competitors, over 2000 athletes are expected to participate in one of the events that make up the 2024 Fulton Hogan Mount Festival – in either the Calley Homes Tauranga Half, Aquabike, Pressio Mount Festival Half Marathon or the Pilot Bay Ocean Swim.

The event started from humble beginnings in 1990. Inaugural Race Director Bruce Trask said – “we thought if we got 100 people in total, we would be doing okay.” When the gun went off at 7am on 2 January 1990, more than 230 individuals and 80 team swimmers plunged into the tide and headed into amaze of boats clustered in the mist.

It has grown into a feature of the Bay of Plenty summer, with today’s announcement set to grow the Calley Homes Tauranga Half even further.