Season-opener ‘massive’

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

YMP Whanau got their netball season off to a bright start when they won the Kathleen Henderson Memorial Trophy on goal differential from Horouta Koura on Saturday.

Last year YMP, who went on to be premier grade champions, missed out on winning the season opener by a single goal.

But Saturday was their day. Despite a one-goal loss to Horouta Koura, they scored the overall points needed to win the A Grade of the Sutherland Auto-sponsored tournament.

The YMP and Horouta teams both won seven out of their eight games, so finished on equal points. But Horouta were well beaten by Gisborne Girls' High School and on differential the trophy was hoisted by YMP Whanau.

Apart from their one-goal loss, YMP were in strong form, winning their other games by 5-10 goals over the 16-minute-long match-ups.

“It was a great start to the season for us,” said YMP co-coach and captain Paku-Jane Skudder.

“It was good to see different combinations working, and we tried heaps of them out, which is what this tournament is for.

“The round-robin games worked well for us. We were quite relaxed and played well as a team.

“We have only one new player from last year, so we are well used to each other.”

The Victoria Domain courts were buzzing as nearly 30 teams battled away across four grades during the morning and early afternoon with plenty of sideline support.

The B Grade title, for the Patsy Burke Memorial Shield, was won by Waikohu P1, with Claydens Waikohu Team 2 the runners-up.

The Elizabeth Crawford Memorial Shield for C Grade winners went to Athletic Kotare, from Wairoa, over Sportsfit Mixed.

The D Grade section for the Dawn Gallagher Shield was won by XLR8, with YMP Manawanui the runners-up.

“The Kathleen Henderson was a vibe, and as always was a great way to kick off our season,” said a Facebook post from Gisborne Netball Centre (GNC).

“A great chance to set eyes on how teams are looking, and to reunite as a netball whanau.

“A huge shout-out to every player who graced our courts, every umpire who blew that whistle, every coach/manager who leads the way and all the whanau who support.”

A GNC spokeswoman said it was a massive success.

The number of teams taking part — 29 — was the biggest in years.

“The general atmosphere was really positive and all the players were obviously keen to get back into their sport,” the spokeswoman said.

“The standard of play for a pre-season event was particularly high, particularly in the A Grade.

“It was also awesome to see good, solid representation from the schools.

“Overall, it was an extremely successful start to our season.”

Full results from the tournament will come later.

The premier grade competition starts on Saturday.