Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

David Beck: Girls just wanna have fun

David Beck
By David Beck
Multimedia sports journalist·Rotorua Daily Post·
1 Oct, 2018 09:27 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Waikite Kōwhai under-7 all girls ripper rugby team played in a curtain raiser for the Bay of Plenty Steamers at Rotorua International Stadium last month. Photo / Supplied

The Waikite Kōwhai under-7 all girls ripper rugby team played in a curtain raiser for the Bay of Plenty Steamers at Rotorua International Stadium last month. Photo / Supplied

As society becomes more accepting, the number of sports young women try their hands at grows.

Long gone are the days when girls played netball and boys played rugby.

In previous, more old-fashioned times, young girls were pigeonholed into playing netball only, because that's what was accepted.

There was a time when the idea of a female playing rugby or cricket was laughed at.

Netball is still hugely popular - as it should be. It's a fantastic sport. However, girls these days have a lot more options than they used to.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Twenty years ago, when I was a sports-mad youngster, I had a female cousin a year older than me who loved football and cricket as much as I did.

There were no all-girl teams back then, so Tracy played down a grade in my team.

As kids, we didn't think much of it, other than having a laugh when countless male opponents underestimated her.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Looking back, I can see it was girls like her who fought the stereotypes of what they should and shouldn't do who paved the way for the next generation.

At the weekend I covered the New Zealand Māori Rugby League Teina Tournament in Rotorua. There were 12 girls' teams involved.

Bay of Plenty 13s Kotiro player Satriani Tahau makes a run during the New Zealand Maori Rugby League Teina Tournament. Photo / Ben Fraser
Bay of Plenty 13s Kotiro player Satriani Tahau makes a run during the New Zealand Maori Rugby League Teina Tournament. Photo / Ben Fraser

The Bay of Plenty 13s girls' team was pulled together from a range of different sports and, by all accounts, they loved their first competitive league experience.

There is still work to do. Bay of Plenty does not have a regular rugby league competition for girls, but it is something they are looking into and, in my opinion, we are heading in the right direction.

Discover more

Bay of Plenty Volcanix make history

28 Sep 06:52 AM

Consecutive wins have Volcanix on a high

30 Sep 10:11 PM

Gate touches taint day for Kiwi kayakers

29 Sep 10:10 PM

Rugby league tourney full of Māori flair

30 Sep 08:30 PM

In recent years, the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union has placed great focus on growing the women's game, as has New Zealand Rugby.

The Farah Palmer Cup, our national women's competition, has more teams than ever and the Bay of Plenty Volcanix are thriving.

That is the high-performance end of the sport, at the other end is where you have to foster a love for the game and provide pathways.

This year Bay of Plenty held its inaugural primary school girls' sevens tournament in Tauranga, a drive to get more girls playing sevens.

Waikite Rugby Club leads the way in that respect with the Waikite Kōwhai under-7 and under-6 all girls ripper teams brimming with talent.

The under-7 team split into two teams and played in a curtain raiser for the Bay of Plenty Steamers at Rotorua International Stadium last month - an experience they will never forget and one which served as an advertisement for any girls watching.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

By no means am I saying girls should not play netball, I am saying is it's great that they have choices.

There is still a way to go, you still hear comments such as "you're playing like a girl" on sidelines at boys' rugby games, but in general, we have made progress and that should be celebrated.

The important thing to remember is that children play sport because they enjoy it.

My cousin Tracy and I were best friends growing up.

She died a few years ago and our time playing sports together are memories I will always cherish. It didn't matter if we were playing football, cricket, netball or tiddlywinks - we were having fun.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Sport

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM

Whakarewarewa dominated Te Puna with a 57-10 win in Rotorua.

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM
'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

08 Jul 10:50 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP