Cover over courts huge asset

Rotorua Lakes High School's sports teams are ready for all kinds of weather.

A new cover has been built over the school's two existing netball courts in order for students to be able to train in the rain.

Principal Bruce Walker said the school had been fundraising and slowly putting money aside for the last five years, with the covers costing $600,000 in total.

"We didn't have enough gym space for all our classes, (so) this was a way of giving us another space and netball has really taken off in this school. It gives our other sports teams somewhere to practise in the wet."

He said all that was left to do was put in the LED lights which would be done during the next school holidays in time for winter, when it got dark early.

Mr Walker said the cover, which was installed by Shade Systems Ltd, gave a place for the kids to practise in all kinds of weather.

The school previously had no one area where they could all meet together and this would allow them space to have full school assemblies, he said.

"We wanted to go for something of excellence that would benefit the school. The kids have all been looking and talking about it and they all seem quite excited, it's a huge facility."

Mr Walker said it would be used every day during school hours for physical education and every night by different school teams, not just netball, and by some of Rotorua's netball teams.

"It's going to be great. It means the students can train and be dry. No doubt we will have fights as to who booked it," he said.