Ocean event churning out champions | Bay of Plenty Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Bay of Plenty
Ocean event churning out champions
PICTURE MARK McKEOWN: Tauranga policeman Nga Utanga has been involved with the Ocean Athlete championships since its inception more than a decade ago.
Nga Utanga deals with the worst of what society dishes up in his day job as Tauranga's police officer in charge of Youth Services.
Taggers, recidivist offenders and violent teens on a slippery slope to a stint behind bars - there's little that shocks Utanga any more after almost three decades on the beat.
Which helps make it easier to understand  why the 48-year-old willingly gives up two weeks of annual leave every year to get involved in the national Ocean Athlete championship.
Dressed in work boots, board shorts and a T-shirt, Utanga was yesterday busy digging trenches in the main Mount beach, one of a gang of volunteers turning the expanse of sand into a mini-stadium for the 950 athletes and several thousand supporters descending on Mount Maunganui.
- Read more in today's Bay of Plenty Times
 
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