Introducing a new secondary school competition at Netball Manurewa was one of the centre’s goals this year, which was achieved through the Rangatahi Wero six-week competition running through May and June.
Netball Manurewa General Manager, Karla Matua says the return of secondary school netball at Netball Manurewa has been amazing.
“Seeing teams from our community who’ve not competed here before, has been a real success for us,” she says.
The Monday night competition, saw sixteen teams enter, including four mixed teams.
Karla says, the shorter competition, on a night that doesn’t clash with other netball or sports, has been a big draw card for teams.
Starting the competition
Karla says, in the beginning, they reached out to their local secondary schools through hui, before utilising their local Regional Sports Trust CLM to promote the competition to the wider secondary school network.
“We wanted to promote this as an opportunity to play netball for everyone, even if you haven’t before,” she says.
“We spoke about the purpose of the six-week comp, and schools and clubs were keen to help us support this.”
Community-based and fun vibes
Young person Icyss Nooroa, who’s been a part of Rangatahi Wero says she’s enjoyed having a local competition.
“It’s been really fun – meeting new people from different teams, and reconnecting with some I’ve played with before,” she says.
Icyss, who also plays club and school netball, says she’s enjoyed the Rangatahi Wero competition for its fun vibes.
Hemoata, who coaches one of the teams in the competition, with her husband, says the kaupapa of Rangatahi Wero has been awesome.
She says she’s seen their team’s sportsmanship grow, and it’s great to see them out there enjoying it.
Successes of the competition
Karla says they’ve seen lots of whānau attend on the Monday evening and support their kids and schools which is a success for their community.
The competition has also been an opportunity to develop umpires and also connect players to clubs to provide them with a netball pathway for the future.
“One of the greatest benefits for us at Netball Manurewa, was being able to select an U14 Girls Representative Team to compete in four Auckland tournaments,” says Karla.
“Without this competition, this wouldn’t have been possible.
Rangatahi Wero to honour the memory
The tournament is in memory of Israel Hoterene-Rakete who passed away last year. Israel umpired at Manurewa and Papakura and was a big advocate for youth development and participation.
