Neil Wylie was in the middle of preparing for a trip to Australia to compete in a big mountain biking event, when a simple trip to the dentist to get some fillings fixed changed everything. But Wylie was determined to make it to Australia and he did. Erin Tasker reports. Photo supplied.Just three months after being diagnosed with cancer, Neil Wylie ticked off one of the most gruelling challenges of his long cycling career.

And after crossing the line on the fourth and final day of the Cape to Cape mountain bike race in Western Australia recently, Wylie was presented with the Johnny Waddell Beacon Award for overcoming adversity, or being “the shining light” of the event.

It was recognition of the tough road he’d travelled to get to that position – a road which began with a simple trip to the dentist.

Wylie said he’d seen the Cape to Cape on television and decided he’d like to have a go at it, so he signed up, before booking himself in for a visit to the dentist.

“I’d saved up a bit of money and thought I would get some fillings redone and tidied up, and I said ‘I’ve got an ulcer that I can’t get rid of’,” Wylie said.

The dentist wasn’t sure what it was so put him on antibiotics, but it wouldn’t clear up, so he was sent to Christchurch to have a biopsy done.

That biopsy revealed that the ulcer was in fact cancer, an oral cancer on the top of his gum.

Wylie said when you heard the word cancer, you naturally thought the worst.

He underwent surgery in July to have the cancer removed and while the plan was initially to remove two teeth, he ended up having seven teeth and part of the bone taken out.

Wylie was worried what he’d be left looking like afterwards, but a plate was made to fit him and, while it took some getting used to, looking at him now you wouldn’t even know what he’d been through.

He didn’t require chemotherapy or radiation and now just has to have check-ups every six weeks for a year to ensure he is still clear.

The whole experience completely changed his outlook on life.

Wylie knows he is lucky to be alive and is determined to make the most of the chance he’s been given.

Included in that, was going ahead with the trip to Western Australia to compete in what has been described as Australia’s longest and most gruelling mountain bike race – a trip he’d been looking forward to.

“I thought, I’m going to do this, even if it kills me,” Wylie said.

“Even if I had to walk it, I was going to do it.”

Having to take it easy after his operation meant missing a good month of training, so he headed into the event off a couple of road races with the Tinwald Cycling Club and some spin classes.

With old friend Murray Hall, a silver medal winning Australian cyclist from the 1974 Commonwealth Games, by his side, Wylie lined up at the start of the Cape to Cape along with 1400 other competitors ready for whatever lay ahead.

He was just happy to be there.

The race was held over four days, with the first stage being 47km, the second 63km, the third 45km and the fourth 57km.

Each day involved anywhere between two and three-and-a-half hours on the bike tackling some tough terrain.

The first two days of the race, which was based around Margaret River, were hard.

But by the end of day four Wylie and Hall were ready to rebook the house they’d rented for the event’s duration, and to head back for another go next year.

Wylie was sixth overall in the Masters 3 category, and more importantly, he beat Hall.

For years, there has been a friendly rivalry between the two and this time the bragging rights went to the Kiwi.

Wylie is no stranger to competitive cycling.

He’s cycled for as long as he can remember, but most of it has been done on the road or the track, picking up numerous New Zealand titles over the years.

Mountain biking is a different kettle of fish though.

It required a lot more strength as there were countless hills and downhill sections to tackle, and while medical officials were kept busy during the Cape to Cape event dealing with injuries sustained from falls, Wylie came through unscathed with a massive smile on his face.

“When I went across the line I was like, ‘yes, I have done it’, that was the biggest thrill.

And I beat Murray, so that made it even better,” Wylie said.

He credited his early diagnosis and the fact he was fit and healthy for the fact he’d come through his cancer ordeal so well, and said he’d been fortunate that family, friends and workmates had rallied around him.

In hindsight, there were signs that something wasn’t right.

Wylie said he’d been tired, but the groundsman at Anzco just put it down to how busy he’d been.

Looking back, unusual behaviour by his beloved seven-year-old rottweiler Holly was also in a sign that something was up, Wylie said.

“Before I found out it was cancer she would come and sit by me, right in front of me, and just stare at me, and I still – to this day – reckon she knew that I was crook,” Wylie said.

“I reckon she picked it up, that she knew I had cancer, because she’s never done that before.

“She would just sit there and stare at me in a daze.”

Since the operation to remove the cancer, Holly had stopped doing it.

Life has returned to normal in the household and today it is hard to wipe the smile off Wylie’s face.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 10 November 2018

Sam Bubb is likely to be leading from the front for Allenton today. Photo Robyn HoodAllenton cemented its spot as the team to beat in this season’s Mid Canterbury Tennis A grade interclub competition last week.

The Allenton side is the only unbeaten team now after three rounds of competition, and will be looking to keep that momentum up against Tinwald today.

Tinwald is one of two sides with two victories to its name so far this season, including a convincing 5-1 victory over Southern last weekend.

Just who will take to the court for Allenton today as unclear at this stage, as it is one of a couple of teams battling for numbers at the moment, but Sam Bubb was likely to lead the team from number one, with Andre van Rooyen at two and Bryn Looij at three.

The Tinwald side featured a new player to the local scene this season at number one, Cameron McCracken, and he is yet to drop a singles match this season.

He has lost just one match, a doubles match back in round one in his side’s opening loss to Methven.

Methven is the other unbeaten team heading into round three, but lost to Hampstead last weekend, and will be looking to get back in the winners’ circle against Southern today.

Methven is this year led by Edwin Dargue at one, and has a lot of experience down the order, with Peter Kirwan, Lee Gilbert, Josh Jones and Henry Ross rounding out the side.

The Southern side, led by Jason Feutz at number one, has picked up just one win so far this season.

The day’s other match up will see Fairton searching for its first win of the season against Hampstead.

Fairton is likely to be without its number one Rhys Cromie, who was struggling with a leg injury, setting up a possible top singles match between Fairton’s Tyler Leonard and Hampstead’s Aidan Mitchell.

Interclub tennis will then take a break next weekend, as it is show weekend.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 10 November 2018

Claire Tappin is the new coach developer for Mid Canterbury Netball. Photo Erin TaskerNetball and teaching have both played a big part in Claire Tappin’s life, and now she’s landed a job which combines the two just nicely.

Tappin is the new Mid Canterbury Netball coach developer, a part-time position which was previously absorbed by Mid Canterbury Netball’s netball development officer, but had become a standalone position thanks to some extra funding.

And Tappin is looking forward to really getting her teeth into it and finding out how she could best help Mid Canterbury’s netball coaches.

“My job is to grow and sustain coaching numbers for Mid Canterbury Netball, so pretty much finding out what our coaches need and want, and co-ordinating and delivering it,” Tappin said.

As a teacher, a former netballer who played to a high level growing up in the United Kingdom, and a coach herself, it is a role that is pretty much perfect for her.

“This is a role that I was kind of doing when I left the UK 20 years ago, I was delivering sessions to coaches within the UK,” Tappin said.

This new role would see her working with coaches from Year 7 and 8 teams right through to premier level coaches.

Mid Canterbury Netball already had 30 coaches on the Netball New Zealand coaching pathway after attending official modules, with half a dozen actively working towards qualifications and another half a dozen ready to take that step.

Historically though, the Mid Canterbury Netball Centre had a low uptake when it came to attending courses, so Tappin said it was important she looked at things differently, rather than just her or Mainland Netball’s Deb Johnson delivering modules.

Tappin had put together her first two sessions for coaches, and the first is set to take place this weekend. It is all about shooting and she’s brought former Silver Fern shooter Angela Mitchell and current Canterbury Tactix squad member Kate Lloyd in to take part.

The next weekend, on December 8 and 9, would include a session with Ashburton’s Andrea Cousins on player centred coaching.

Cousins was the assistant coach of this year’s Mainland team in the Beko Netball League, and her club team won the Christchurch premier grade.

Tappin herself had pretty good credentials too, though, as one of three coach developers from Mainland Netball invited to a Sport Canterbury regional training day recently. She also used to be Ashburton College’s specialist classroom teacher, which she said was the educational equivalent of a coach developer, and two years ago she attended a week-long national conference to develop her skills in that role.

As a player, Tappin was a formidable defender and a key player in the United A premier team for many years after moving to New Zealand 20 years ago. Now, she is the coach of that team.

Tappin played netball from a young age back in the UK and played for the England schools’ team.

As a defender, she knew the defence end of the court pretty much inside out, but when it came to things like shooting, there were things she could learn. It was a similar story with most coaches – every coach had something they could learn, and Tappin’s job was to find out what coaches wanted and make it happen.

“I actually think I get even more of a buzz from coaching coaches rather than players, because you give them the why behind things, the why you’re doing things and why it’s working,” Tappin said.

Coaching the coaches had a flow-on effect to players, which meant when you helped a coach grow you were helping the players to grow, too.

Tappin said in her role it was important she continued to coach too, so would be back with United A next season, and hopefully back for a second season coaching Mid Canterbury’s seniors.

Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 10 November 2018