Six Taihape people are included in the North Island team competing in the New Zealand Gumboot Throwing champs in Queenstown on February 7-8.
The contest is part of the inaugural New Zealand Games in Queenstown.
Taihape Development Community Trust manager Elizabeth Mortland said the New Zealand Boot Throwing Association were organising raffles to raise funds to get the team to Queenstown and also to run the North Island Gumboot Throwing Championship at Gumboot Day on March 7 in Taihape.
Gumboot Day was first held in 1985 in Taihape and its purpose was to provide a promotional activity to entice travellers to stop and see what Taihape had to offer. Over the years it had grown into a national drawcard and its reputation had spread internationally, she said.
Last year the International Boot Throwing Association was formed and New Zealand became the only member in the Southern Hemisphere, which makes Taihape a player on the international scene of boot throwing.
New Zealand joins Estonia, Russia, Sweden, Italy, Finland, Germany, Poland, Belgium and France, she said.
The foundation of the New Zealand association was created by Taihape Community Development Trust and the Rotary Club of Taihape, Mrs Mortland said.
A small group of staunch supporters have worked on a constitution which includes a clause naming Taihape as the official headquarters of the New Zealand association.
Ms Mortland said if they can find sponsorship, the NZ champions could attend the world boot throwing competitions in 2015.
It was also planned that, within the next couple of years, the NZ Gumboot Throwing Championships will be brought back to Taihape's Gumboot Day, she said. "However, for the next two years, throwing at the NZ Rural Games is a great opportunity to promote the sport of gumboot throwing nationally and help establish NZBTA.
"It is the intention that, particularly once the NZ Gumboot Throwing Championships are back in Taihape, this event will bring people from round the country to Taihape on Gumboot Day.
"NZBTA wishes to promote Taihape as a great place to live, visit and stay, she said.