Te-Arakamu South Taranaki Marching Club have walked away from recent competitions with top placings.
The Eltham-based club’s under-13 and under-18 teams placed in the top three of the second division in their respective categories at the national championships in March this year.
The under-18 team came first in the display category and the under-13 team was awarded third place in the technical category.
Club coach Sandra Ngatai said the categories are quite different.
“During the display category, the team completes a club-created routine. In the technical category, they complete a routine created by Marching New Zealand.”
The club’s success didn’t stop there, she said, with both teams placing first in the first division technical and display events for their age groups.
“They’ve worked so hard this season.”
Ngatai said the teams could attend the competitions thanks to the support of the community.
“We had a few raffles and sold hangi. We also received some funding from iwi. Our community is lovely and good at supporting each other.”
The season has been difficult, she said, with only a few judges for the sport.
“Judges travel from outside the region and if they can’t make it, the competitions are cancelled. It’s made our club a bit hoha (annoyed) since it’s unfair to our girls who work hard. We have had judges from across the North Island and from the South Island as well. Since the judges are travelling here, it comes at a cost to our association.”
Taranaki needs more judges, said Ngatai.
“If people have some marching experience and want to be involved, I’d encourage them to contact the Taranaki Marching Association.”
She said the club is also in need of more members so they can keep operating.
“We’ve been running for 13 years straight but if we can’t get more members, we’ll have to close.”
The sport is now in the off-season but she said she’d love to meet new members once the season resumes in August.
“We’d love to see you once we start up again. Make sure to check out our Facebook page for more information.”