Chasing hoops and dreams

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

It is enormous and the Gizzy Hoops academy are there.

Four teams — under-16 boys development, u14 boys, u14 girls and u14 girls development— are competing under the Gizzy Hoops banner at the fourth annual HoopNation Event in Tauranga.

A party of 50 made the trip after raising $10,000 since July.

Last year, Gisborne had one team at HoopNation — the country’s biggest basketball tournament. This year, 150 teams of 1500 players in 13 divisions are competing at Trustpower Arena and the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre.

The coaches of the four Gizzy Hoops teams are Jackson Leach (u16 boys development), Bronson Maurirere (u14 boys), Melissa Mackey-Huriwai (u14 girls) and Natalie Mackey (u14 girls development).

“I am very proud of our athletes’ effort and their commitment,” said Gizzy Hoops founder and director Harriet Peipi.

“They have got a lot going on (kapa haka, rugby league, swimming etc). Many thanks to our coaches, who have taken family time out to train our youth. If it wasn’t for them, these kids wouldn’t have this opportunity.”

She also thanked management co-ordinator Camille Collier and sponsors for their support.

Peipi said the goal of Gizzy Hoops as an academy was “to develop and engage together with our families and build confidence in a positive environment and learn life skills”.