Despite the heavens opening up on the Laird Park courts, the Wanganui age-group representative teams excelled in the wet on Sunday.
Wanganui was hosting the ZM Combined Age Group Tournament, with over 30 teams travelling from around the lower North Island to take part in four grades from Year 7 to Under 17.
It was the second year Wanganui had been hosts since the Skelsey Cup and U17 tournaments were united in 2012.
"We are thrilled with the level of support for our teams, especially considering the wet weather," said Netball Wanganui game development officer Lisa Murphy, noting the number of supporters' umbrellas at the courts.
"The tournament has turned into a fantastic development competition. It fits in nicely with the netball calendar as many of the teams prepare for their respective national age group tournaments next month.
"Everything went off without a hitch and our Wanganui teams played well throughout, with some excellent results achieved."
At secondary school level, the Wanganui Under-17 and Under-15 squads were winners. The U17s dominated their final against Manawatu Development, winning 44-20.
As their coach, Murphy said every player got court time on the day, with the exception of injured Renee Butler (back) and Rachel Horrocks (ankle).
Murphy said Terehia Gardiner stepped up by playing well at both ends of the court.
The Wanganui U15s retained their title, beating Hawke's Bay 22-16 in their final. That was a turnaround from the round robin, in which the Bay won 23-13.
Coach Marie Kinloch felt her team had performed the basics well and looked after their ball for a well deserved win.
The Wanganui U15 Development team performed well to come third after a tight playoff game with Taranaki U15 Development, winning 26-23.
Taliah Su'a provided the surprise element in their final game as she was moved from defence to goal shoot through the loss of Sisilia Faumui to injury.
Co-coaches Rochelle Howard and Pare Muraahi were extremely pleased.
Perhaps the biggest local improvers were the Wanganui Year 7 team, who had been winless in previous weeks yet finished second to Wellington's Northern Suburbs. The final was tight, both teams conceding many turnovers, finishing 22-18.
Coach Te Ora Nyman was thrilled with her team's improvement, mentioning defender Sharnice Campbell and shooter Tessa Strand for consistent performances throughout the day.
The Wanganui Year 8 team also were runners-up their 25-12 loss to Kapi Mana in the final not a true reflection of the tight contest.
Midcourt, Sylvah Anderson (WD) and Kerwyn Morgan (C) worked tirelessly, while Cheyann McDougall (GD) also were consistent, making coach Annie Metz proud of her team even though they could not retain their title.
Wanganui's umpires performed well on Sunday, with youngster Renee Harrison receiving a development award.
All Wanganui's age-group representative teams now head to the Molly Dorne Tournament in Levin on June 30.
In July, the U17s and U15s go to their national tournaments in Hastings and New Plymouth, while the Year 7-8s have their final event of the year in Palmerston North, July 21-22.
Finals results:
Wanganui U17 beat Manawatu Development U17 44-20; Wanganui U15 beat Hawke's Bay U15 22-16;
Wanganui U15 Dev beat Taranaki U15 Dev 26-23; Wanganui Y8 lost to Kapi Mana Y8 25-12; Wanganui lost to Northern Suburbs Y7 22-18.