Roads and paths across Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty are about to get more colourful after five students and a teacher received their winning helmets from the design your own helmet competition.

The annual Travel Safe contest attracted over 1,000 entries this year with students and teachers vying to get their own creative and colourful designs painted on a helmet by Anthony Brodie airbrushing.

Travel Safe Team Leader, Sonia Lynds says the promotion is a great opportunity to emphasise the importance of wearing a helmet among students, parents, and teachers while having fun and reinforcing safe biking habits.

“Every year our Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty schools embrace this competition, and we are always flooded with entries. It’s such a wonderful opportunity for students to get creative while keeping bike safety front and centre as they become independent travellers.” 

The competition opened in October and involved entrants getting out their coloured pencils, felts, and crayons to design and colour a blank helmet template in any way they wish.

The judges had a hard job on their hands to award the different category winners, with a dancing hippopotamus, a giant squid, and Mauao all featuring in the winning designs.  

Sonia says the competition presents a timely reminder for people to not only wear their helmets but to double check their quality and fit.

“Remember to check your helmet’s shell, styrofoam, and straps regularly for signs of wear or damage. Helmets are only fully effective if they fit well so we recommend using the two-four-one method to fit your helmet correctly: two fingers between your helmet and eyebrows, four fingers made into V shapes along the straps either side of your ears, and one finger between your buckle and chin.”

The competition will reopen again in October this year.  Keep an eye on Travel Safe’s Facebook page for details.

2024 Design your own helmet category winners
Year 1 and 2 - Bella Winslade, Omanu School
Year 3 and 4 - Levi Stockwell, Taumata School
Year 5 and 6 - Bree Robinson, Omanu School
Year 7 and 8 – Amelia Scripps, Ōtūmoetai Intermediate School
Year 9 to 13 – Anahera Rei, Mount Maunganui College
Teacher – Steven Entwisle, Mount Maunganui Intermediate School