it was a tough night but the boys kept their eyes on the prize.
Sport Roundup for Horowhenua: From petanque to basketball and golf ...
Petanque
The New Zealand Pointing and Mixed Doubles Petanque Championship was held at Horowhenua Pétanque club at the weekend, with players from Orewa to Dunedin entered.
On the first day athletes played five games, with two more games on the second
day before the tournament reached the elimination phase.
There were 39 entries in the mixed doubles division, won by Moises Burgos from Upper Hutt who teamed up with Te Wai Haa Rangi Biddle-Amoroa from Whanganui East.
In the Men's Pointing there were 14 entries, with the division won by Georgio Vakauta from Vikings in Auckland, while the Woman's Pointing had 11 and was won by Rotorua 15-year-old Caitlin Avery.
Horowhenua Pétanque Club had several entries including two debutantes George Tyree and Barry Cross, who played well to finish 5th equal in their division.
The next tournament at Horowhenua Petanque Club is the Rockoctober Melee on October 29.
Horowhenua Pétanque Club welcomes new members. Playing times are Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 1pm.
Outdoor Bowls:
Levin Cossie Outdoor Bowls are hosting the North Island Chartered Tournament, November 14-17.
All games will be played at Central Levin Bowling Club and Levin Bowling Club over four days, with 208 women and their supporters from Auckland to Johnsonville expected.
Tournament convener Viv Hudson said it was exciting as the club last hosted the tournament in 1995. Mayor Bernie Wanden will open the tournament on the Sunday at Levin Cossie at 6am. This is a top class tournament and there are trophies up for grabs as well as prize money.
The full tournament draw is available on the Clubs NZ website.
Golf Results:
Levin Golf Club
Results week ending October 10:
Monday Speldhurst 9 Hole Stableford: Bo Arwidson 17, Robin Burnett 16, John Griffin 16. Twos: Bo Arwidson; Tuesday Men Stableford: Ian Morby 42. Peter Clarke 43, Alistair Woodfield 39; Wednesday – Ladies Stableford: Leanne Ward 38, Joanne Wilton-Eadie 31, Sue Staples 27; 9 Hole Mixed Stableford: Ross McCormick 19, John Hailwood 18, Ray Ferguson 18; Thursday – Early Men Stableford: Owen Bonis 36, Ian King 33, Ian Morby 32; Late Men Stableford: David Louisson 35, John Saulbrey 34, Graeme Cliff 31; Friday 9 Hole Mixed Net: Eunok Kim 36, Brian Hita 37, Ross McCormick 38; Saturday – Early Men Stableford: Paul Bagg 40, John Quayle 40, Peter Holmes 38; Ladies Net: Clare Sorensen 71, Joanne Wilton-Eadie 72, Leanne Ward 74; Cossie Club Stableford: Phil Fryer 33, Robert Forth 30, John Saulbrey 29; Late Men Stableford: Ray Harvey 38, Ernie Leslie 36, Ken Sterne 35. Twos: Ray Harvey.
Foxton Golf Club
Results 8 October:
Eddie Lamb 42, Gerald Turk 39, Gary Stratford 36, Todd McGuigan 36,
Marty Berry 36, David Lask 36, Barry Peta 36. 2's Ash Radford.
Buckley Golf Club
October 2:
Nett: Beadle MacDonald 69. Liam O'Conner 70. Scott Purcell 71 cb. Mark Salmon 71. Dave Trueman 72. Lance Close 73. Bernie Wildbore 74. Mark Jamieson 75. Danny Waerea 76. Two's: Walter Robinson No 17.
October 9:
Stableford.Ken Bayne 37. Mark Jamieson 34 cb. Liam O'Conner 34. Shane Metcalfe 34. Ian August 33. Dave Trueman 33. Danny Waerea 32. Penny Metcalfe 32.
2022 Four Ball Champions Penny Metcalfe and Mark Jamieson.
Basketball:
Levin Basketball Association (LBA) Under 16s boys 24 hour Free Throw-a-thon team: Te Ratapu Rikiti-Ormsby (shooter), Riley McFadyen, Te Koha Wehipeihana, Taonga Takitimu-Laws. Ryan Wire, Eruera Matehaere, Hunter Pakau, Havin Gripp, Jaequon Walker (shooter). Team members not in the photo: Lazzy Tovo and Tyrese Moore.
Levin Basketball Association (LBA) Under 16s boys team completed a 24 hour Free Throw-a-thon event last Friday in preparation for the HoopNation Classic four day tournament in Tauranga on October 21.
Organiser Aroha Pakau said that it was a great way for the team to give back to their sponsors and community.
"What better way for the boys to give back, than to show they are working hard to be the best they can be for the tournament," she said.
The event began on Friday at 5pm with a hiss and a roar with the team of 10 working in pairs, throwing for an hour before rotating to the next pair.
Aroha said, "We are grateful to Waiopehu College for allowing us the overnight use of the school gym to undertake this. We set mattresses up down one end and had the free throws happening down the other end. It worked really well and was strangely comfortable enough."
A roster was set up, whānau and friends arriving all through the night to support the boys. Dedicated parent helper who stayed for the duration of the event, Maria McFadyen, said "Whānau turned up at 4am to help their son throw for his allocated hour, and then the next lot of whānau were there at 5am to do the same for theirs. It was beautiful to have that kind of tautoko there and it really lifted the boys."
Coach Stewart Whiting has seen massive growth in basketball. He said, "The boys need to play games at the highest level such as HoopNations, to help them be in the running for national squads."
When reflecting on his team and their trainings, he said, "These boys are the underdogs, working hard to foot it with the boys from the big smoke. They've been playing hard all year round, representing their schools, Levin Basketball reps and Māori basketball. These boys are the hardest working group I've ever coached."
Team manager Mini Tapine said, "We are blessed to have received support from sponsors including Muaūpoko Tribal Authority, LBA sponsors, whānau and friends. There is a lot involved in getting a team of rangatahi up to Tauranga for a four day comp so we appreciate everyone who has helped us achieve this."
After 17 hours of throwing, the energy levels had faded, but with an array of kai and lollies supplied by whānau members, it was enough to keep the boys going.
During the last hour, the whole team took to the court to support each other to finish.
Aroha said this event was about more than just giving back, "it was whakawhanaungatanga at its finest. The boys were there for each other, helping each other push through when needed and chilling with each other on the off court times.
"There was no sulking or tantrums, they just got on with it like champs and then all finished strong together."
The team is one of two LBA teams heading to HoopNation Classic next week, with the Under 13 boys team competing too.
Netball
Successful Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie is relishing her opportunity to be part of the Silver Ferns mix during what is shaping as a defining Constellation Cup netball series against Australia.
In a trend adopted by Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua, ANZ Premiership coaches have played a variety of roles during international series in recent times and McCausland-Durie will act as an assistant coach during the four-match series to be played in New Zealand and Australia.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to get a number of eyes on our players and for me to seek input from various sources who can add something different,'' Dame Noeline said.
The Pulse mentor has previously been involved in campaigns with the NZU21s and NZA but the Constellation Cup presents the first time she's been involved in the current Silver Ferns environment in a coaching capacity.
"I think having the franchises involved is really important and it's not an easy thing to create so I'm really grateful of the initiative,'' McCausland-Durie said. "Everyone's been handed different opportunities and different parts, so it's great.
"It is important that we're all part, as franchises, feeding in players to that environment and making sure that we've got awareness of one, the training intensity, are we working them hard enough so that their transition to international level is comparative?
"And alongside that, the understanding of different structures and how do we continue to develop that versatility within our own playing groups.''
With plenty of focus aligned to next year's world cup, defending the Constellation Cup is high on the agenda but this edition is also a fact-finding mission. As a result, the Silver Ferns will have two different teams for each leg with an expanded group of players given the opportunity to stake their claims.
McCausland-Durie will be on board for both legs, starting in Auckland on Wednesday followed by Tauranga on Sunday (October 16) during which Debbie Fuller will also be an assistant. The teams will then head to Australia for matches in Melbourne (October 19) and the Gold Coast (October 23) where former Adelaide Thunderbirds coach Jane Woodlands-Thompson will replace Fuller.
"At this stage I've worked a bit with the attacks and a bit with the defence, so have been going between both ends,'' McCausland-Durie said. "The biggest one for me is supporting what the drive is, having a look and almost being that eye that keeps a broad overview ... what can we see, how is it different?
"Having come in and not built those plans, you can see them from a different perspective, so it's about providing feedback back into the coaching group and then onto players.
"With the general concepts, I think, pretty much whoever runs the line on that, it's how you deliver that for different opposition, how you deliver that with different players, what's the language they're using, understanding what context they're coming from, so I think it's that layer of things rather than the game.
"The game's the game and we all pretty much think the same in terms of how to play it, with some slight variations, but it's really just how do you take that into a new environment and still act it.''
There have now been three men charged with murder.