The New Zealand Olympic Committee’s (NZOC) Great Olympic Skate Roadshow has revealed the name of their giant skateboard – Eke Tahi, meaning ‘Ride as One’.
And the name was put forward by a Maraetai woman.
The skateboard is intended to travel the length and breadth of Aotearoa for the ‘Great Olympic Skate Roadshow” and will visit 40 towns in 41 days, according to the NZ Olympic Team. It started in Kaikohe on May 10.
The supersized skateboard is 12-metres long and weighs 800kg.
It celebrates six newly added events at the Olympic Games and is set to break records by entering the Guinness Book of World Records for “largest fully operational skateboard in the world”.
In April they called for people to enter their suggestions for the name through The NZ Team Facebook and Instagram pages.
Nearly 1000 Kiwis volunteered names for the skateboard.
On May 11, the NZ Olympic Team announced Eke Tahi was chosen.
It was nominated by Karyn Fisher of Maraetai as it was the best at “capturing the pride of Kiwis and excitement for the hopes of the New Zealand team of athletes,” the NZ Olympic Team said.
Former Olympic gold medallist Barbara Kendall, raised in Bucklands Beach, led a panel of Olympians to decide the winning name.
The judges were “blown away by the entries,” with Kendall saying Kiwis were thoughtful and creative in choosing the name for the New Zealand skateboard.
“Eke Tahi is such a beautiful name with a wonderful message,” Kendall said.
Fisher was inspired to call it Eke Tahi after “seeing the challenges faced by the athletes in a year of disruptions”.
“Athletes are athletes because they don’t give up,” Fisher said. “For me, Eke Tahi is a symbol of us all coming together as one.”
Fisher was presented with a replica of the skateboard with the winning name.
On June 19, it will be back in Auckland at Sylvia Park to mark the last day of the roadshow.
