Keeping it all in the whanau

PALM OF HANDS: Jason Sharrock and Hari Waaka reach for the possession.

THEY ARE one of the franchise teams of the Southern Trust New Zealand Masters Games, the very definition of "local product".

As the outdoor netball module got under way at Laird Park yesterday morning, there may have been 11 fewer teams than in 2013, but while the water was wet and the sky was blue, another certainty was Wanganui's Rel8dnsumway being there with bells on.

Having already won two touch rugby gold medals last weekend, the large family contingent of cousins, aunts, uncles and in-laws were fielding teams in the mixed grade and the 35+ women's social competitions.

Rel8dnsumway - aka "related in some way" - have such a vast pool these days they can interchange personnel depending on which sports module they are taking part in.

A niece could come in for an aunt, while the veteran father could tap the younger son on the shoulder and point him back to the bench - at least for five minutes or so before junior was back to give the puffing senior a spell.

The core of Rel8dnsumway are still Wanganui-based, but they are joined by other whanau from Wellington, Porirua and Lower Hutt.

"The more the merrier with family," said member Tina Priddle at a wet Laird Park yesterday.

"We started off with one team - now we have six to seven."

As well as netball and touch, Rel8dnsumway have entered teams in the petanque, sports accuracy and tag modules, and Priddle said they were planning to take part in tennis when the games came back to Wanganui in 2017.

Ironically they also had family connections with their afternoon-game opposition Ka Ora, which consisted of locals and friends from Lower Hutt, Hunterville and Porirua.

"Just a group of mates," said Angel Hamahona, on the sideline with Thomas Tairoa.

"We can't play much else," Tairoa laughed.

Hamahona said the biggest challenge when putting the team together was figuring out who was going to play where.

"You don't think about that when you get your mates."

Ka Ora members also run a camp for youngsters, with the idea to provide strong role models for them.

To have everybody "on the same page", they were planning to be very conservative with the after-hours activities back at the games village last night and this evening, keeping all focus on the netball.

"I was warned too - look how you will behave," said Hamahona.

"You get on the court, [it's] not social at all.

"Then you get off the court and it's all social again."

The largest division is the 40+ Women's, with nine-10 teams including multiple Masters Games gold medallists the Spring Chicks - a Wanganui faction with Nelson and New Plymouth connections.

Another interesting team in this grade is the nine-strong WPNA Sri Lanka squad.

Play continues today and will conclude with the grade finals at 2pm tomorrow.