And the Winner is...
The Winner of the "Let the Masses Know" Competition is Raffi Rassam of St. Thomas More, Glenfield, who generated the most individual registrations. Raffi wins a $100 voucher from Jeromes Bookshop.
The winning diocese was Wellington - with the most registrations from the Archdiocese of Wellington. The diocese wins a night out for dinner for 6 young people and their Bishop.

We have a winner for our Ultimate NZ WYD08 Photo competition!
Congratulations Maria Ganal from St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Gisborne!

Maria's black and white shot of the pilgrimage to Randwick Racecourse, over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, was chosen by the National World Youth Day Committee as the ultimate photo capturing the WYD08 pilgrimage...

"It has a real sense of expectation - Maria used the bridge to draw you to look ahead, reminding the viewer that you’re travelling with a group/crowd rather than alone, and there's an expectation of what's in front and the journey to come."

Runner up was David Smith of St. Joseph's Parish in Takapuna, Auckland.  His impressive photographic skills allowed him to capture a shot of the huge NZ Gathering - a difficult task for any camera in the dark of the Hordern Pavilion!

Click on the photos to view their high-res versions.
To view all the entries in the Ultimate NZ WYD08 Photo competition, visit our Flickr site and check out the 'WYD08 Photo Competition Entries' Set

Capturing WYD Competition

CONGRATULATIONS to Tania Watson of St. Patrick's parish in Greymouth, the winner of the Capturing WYD Pilgrim Competition.  Tania's entry of her and Anna Roper washing cars to fundraise for WYD was judged to be "classic pilgrim prep activity" according to judge, Jamie Cox of the National WYD Committee.   The Committee was also impressed that they donated a significant portion of the money raised at the carwash to help pilgrims from New Caledonia make it to WYD.  Laura Mackenzie will also be travelling with Tania and Anna to Sydney, but was unable to make it to the carwash. 

Click here to see the top three entries.

The ULTIMATE Group Leader Competition

CONGRATULATIONS Andrew Moraes, the ULTIMATE Group Leader!  “To me, he is the walking image of Jesus, strong in his faith, supportive of his parish, friends, family and anyone he comes in contact with. Andrew has not only become a close friend and leader, but a positive example who helps me see what it means to be made in Gods image,” says Deanne Rutherford as part of her entry.  Andrew, and Deanne who nominated him, both WIN $50 worth of official WYD Merchandise!

Click here to read some of the best 'Ultimate Group Leader' entries from around the country.

WorldYouthDay.org.nz Site Quiz  

The first of six Pilgrim Competitions, a Site Quiz on worldyouthday.org.nz, closed on Feb 15th and we have our winner! Katyanne Topping from Sancta Maria College, Auckland gets to choose $50 worth of official WYD08 stuff! Congrats Katyanne! Katyanne is 16 years old and going with her school group led by teacher Ben Gorman. The 40 pilgrims in her group are “all pretty excited about the whole experience” says Katyanne. Congrats Katyanne!