MALLET WIELDERS: Oruaiti School players, from back left: Emma Pickard, Kendall Wyatt-Logan, Beau Marshall and Cooper Stone, enjoyed a golf croquet clinic at Cable Bay last month. PICTURE/SUPPLIED
Students from Taipa Area School and Oruaiti Primary School took full advantage of being given the opportunity to learn the game of golf croquet at Cable Bay recently.
The clinics - which took place on the greens of the Doubtless Bay Croquet Club at the end of February - were
run by Greg Bryant, Croquet New Zealand youth coach and a former national representative, in the Far North to raise the profile of the sport among local youth.
Results in the intermediate grade event were: Taipa Two (Ilyas Mdouari and Chance Kauvarevai) 1st place; Oruaiti Two (Kendall Wyatt-Logan and Beau Marshall) 2nd; Taipa One (Karisma Kingi and Gianni Raui-Munu) 3rd; Oruaiti One (Emma Pickard and Cooper Stone) 4th; Taipa Three (Alexandra Simons and Puhi Renata) 5th.
A spokesperson from the hosting club noted the Year 7, 8 and 9 students "absolutely loved" playing the game and that such was the enthusiasm, all five teams carried on the momentum by entering in the Northland regional playoffs, again thoroughly enjoying the experience.
Bryant said the primary school's regional event, an initiative driven by Sport Northland, was held alongside the 2016 Northland Golf Croquet Regional Secondary School Championships in Whangarei on March 2. (Kerikeri High School entered three teams in the regionals, one of which won,thus qualifying to represent the province at the national secondary schools championships in Nelson on April 2 and 3).
