Touch: Whakatane ready for touch of class

Former All Black Rico Gear (left) playing for the Baa Baaz team at the Whakatane Open Touch Tournament last year. Photo / Stephen Parker

The Whakatane Open Touch Tournament will celebrate its 30th anniversary when the huge tournament begins tonight at Rugby Park.

Held across 18 fields and featuring 72 teams this year, it is one of the biggest touch competitions in New Zealand.

Tournament director and event founder George Rogers said it was great to see the event reach 30 years.

"It is good to see, it is a very strong competition and very competitive," he said. "We put the first one together in 1986 and we had 12 teams attend that year."

He said only one team had played in every tournament - Tatou Tatou from Putaruru.

Rogers said the Stone family from Rotorua had also been involved in the event every year, bringing various sides to the competition.

One of the attractions of the big event is the inclusion of the Baa Baaz team that fields famous rugby and league players each year. In recent years, players like Benji Marshall and Liam Messam have run out at Rugby Park to play for the Baa Baaz. Rogers said the popular team was entered again this weekend.

The tournament begins at 6pm with a quick-fire shootout.

The main competition is held tomorrow with teams competing across six divisions: men's open, women's open, men's restricted, women's restricted, old boys (over-35), and mixed.

The restricted grades mean players who have represented New Zealand can not take part.

Rogers said more than $14,000 in prize money was up for grabs.

By the numbers:

* Whakatane Open Touch Tournament

* Teams: 72

* Referees: 72

* Fields: 18

* Started: 1986