On paper it’s a fantastic effort
SOmepeople represent Newzealand on the battlefield, risking life and limb to protect their comrades under fire. Some guts it out on the rugby field, or thrive in the world of business innovation.
Others, equally heroic some may say, are flown to Austria, party for several nights straight and then contest the world paper dart throwing championship.
Yep, some characters have all the luck. Dunedin’s Josh Stewart is one of them. Don’t worry – he knows it.
The 20-year-old Otago University genetics student was one of three Kiwis to attend the Red Bull Paper Wings world final in Salzburg last week, with the trio being the first fromdownunder to compete in the annual event.
Prior to the champs, Stewart qualified asnewzealand’s top distance thrower in a nationwide university search, with an effort of 43 metres. While it was enough to rank him fifth best in the world prior to the Austrian event, it wasn’t an effort repeated in Salzburg. Competitors had two throws, and after managing only 30 metres on his first effort, Stewart’s second dart hit the roof of the exhibition hall, owned by Red Bull
boss Dietrich Mateschitz, disqualifying him from competition.
Whether it was too much PARTYING, too much time spent with the REDBULL promo girls, or simply a bad day out, I guess we’ll never know.
‘‘I was going pretty well but I hit the roof
and it threw meoffmy game,’’ Stewart said. ‘‘It went quite a wee way, but it hit the roof and I got disqualified. I choked under pressure. I was in with a shot before that, so it’s OK.’’
Not ‘‘a paper dart nerd at school’’ before heading to Austria, Stewart reckons the trip has really piqued his interest. The design of the ‘‘distance’’ dart, he believes, is a real art form. ‘‘They’re not like your traditional paper-planelooking things,’’ he said.
‘‘They are really nice
and narrow and look like the end of a bow and arrow tip. Really thin and you throw them as hard as you can.’’
Stewart’s fellow Kiwis did well without making the finals.
Christchurch’smaxbetteridge finished 19th in the time section, with a longest throw of 9.29 seconds, while Richard Jeffcoate, also a Cantab, finished 17th in the aerobatics section.
One thing is for sure, the Kiwi lads made the most of the nightlife, representing a proud nation ably in that respect.
‘‘It was a crazy time,’’ Stewart said.
‘‘Lots of Red Bull girls. Wewent to a Red Bull party at night time that they’d throw and you’re meeting people from all over the world.
‘‘Making friends with people from Estonia, things like that.
‘‘A lot of people do take it seriously.
‘‘Everyone will say they don’t – but you want to do well.’’
So Stewart, Betteridge and Jeffcoate have begun a tradition of Kiwis flying high in the world of paper darts.
Here’s hoping the 2012 crew can representnewzealand just as proudly next May.