“The cultural performance by students from Gisborne Boys’ and Girls’ High schools was outstanding.”
Brown said Saturday was a hot day to play netball.
“We had to hand out supplies of sunblock.
“The national body was very impressed with the quality of Tairawhiti’s hospitality and about how smoothly the tournament was run.
“It was great to see so much support courtside for the teams, and it was for all the teams.”
Brown said the quality of play in the u19 division was a highlight for her.
“That divison was pretty amazing to watch!”
Former Silver Ferns physiotherapist Sharon Kearney attended the tournament on Saturday and gave advice on injury prevention and warm-ups.
“Her input was hugely appreciated by the players and coaches,” Brown said.
Tairawhiti open coach Ingrid Brown said it felt really good to finish third.
“We had five wins out of seven games,” she said.
“It was an awesome result for the girls, and they were beaming with pride.
“It was just awesome to see our players come home from out of town and play so well. Layce Walker from Palmerston North, for example, was sensational at goal defence. She added another dimension to our team performance.
“Across the board, the passages of play they produced were just so smooth. They gelled together so well as a team.
“All in all, it was an excellent result.”
Four made the premier grade tournament team — Walker, Ata Mangu, Bronya McMenamin and Renee Wikaire.
The Tairawhiti u13s, u15s, u17s and u19s all had wins across the two days.
At the time The Herald went to print, the full set of results from the tournament were not available.
The u13 team won five out of their nine games.
“I was so proud of them,” u13s coach Tanya Owen said.
“They all stuck to their processes so well for young girls and did Tairawhiti proud.
“Our captain, Piper Donaldson, played so well, and was unlucky not to make the tournament team.”
Princess Tomoana-Whareherehere was named in the u19 tournament team.
Her team won four from seven games.
“We had a tough row to hoe, but we were very competitive,” coach Irene Takao said.
“In one of our losses we got to within four goals, and picked up a bonus point.
“We were thrilled to see Princess make the tournament team. She played very consistently and strongly.”
The u15s won three games out of nine.
“I was very proud of them; they played at a whole new level,” coach Paku Kingi said.
“Their personal skill level rose as the tournament went along and you need to watch out for these girls coming through their netball programmes this year.
“Our player of the tournament was Wency-Ree Rewi, our vice-captain. She had a lot to deal with, having lost her dad only a week ago. She was a credit to herself.”
The u17s won three games from seven.
