Bonnie Jansen and Liam Napier on the sports panel to talk cricket, the NPC kicking off and the appointment of the new Phoenix coach.
Competitors and onlookers of the 58th Ongaonga Sevens tournament were welcomed with an Olympic-style ceremony and the release of pigeons, before kicking off another year of healthy Central Hawke’s Bay competition.
Undeterred by the rain and mud on Wednesday, 17 primary schools took part, battling it out on the sportsfield and courts at Ongaonga School in games of seven-a-side rugby, netball, hockey and football.
Central Hawke's Bay Ongaonga school netballers at the Ongaonga Sevens tournament soon found themselves covered in mud. Photo / Jackie Lowry. 30 July 2025.
Acting principal of Ongaonga School Rose Illsley knew the rain was coming but said as the kids flowed into school, there were smiles and excitement all around.
“Unless it was thunder and lightning, it goes ahead,” she said.
The event was cancelled in 2020, and despite the lifting of lockdown, there was not enough time and too many unknowns to pull the enormous event together.
Illsey said the release of the pigeons was an environmental choice, as historically, balloons were released to mark the start of the event.
This year, Central Hawke’s Bay athlete 17-year-old Caitlin Kirk spoke to the competitors about her journey in sport.
Kirk recently earned silver in the Aquathlon (female 16–19 age group), a race in Spain combining a 1km open-water swim in the Lerez River with a 5km run through the streets of Pontevedra.
Ongaonga School students opened the Ongaonga Sevens tournament with a flare. Photo / Jackie Lowry
“We always try and choose someone that’s got local connections, I think it’s important for the kids here today to see the value in your hard work, and [that] anybody can do it,” Illsley said.
Illsley said she was grateful for the Central Hawke’s Bay College students who helped to referee and score each game, with many of them having played in the tournament when they were at primary school.
“When you talk to them, it’s really quite exciting because you hear their stories of when they were here, and some of them are past students of Ongaonga School.”
Omakere School students took part in rugby matches in the mud at the Ongaonga Sevens tournament. Photo / Jackie Lowry
Illsley said there was a healthy rivalry between all the schools, but the children always demonstrated high sportsmanship.
“If somebody gets knocked down, they always help each other up.
“The goal is to walk away with the cup; you want to walk away and say ‘we were the best’.”
Waipukurau Primary School students take shelter during the wet and muddy tournament in Central Hawke's Bay. Photo / Jackie Lowry
Winners:
Junior Football – Pōrangahau School
Senior Football – Waipukurau/Pukehou ( mixed team)
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
