A successful FNDC Rural Travel Fund application has allowed the Takahue Rugby Club to support their members by subsidising the cost of travel to local JMB club matches in venues as far away as Te Kao (a 132km round trip) while their IMB teams travel away to compete in their North Zone competition in venues in the Mid-North.  The $25,000 rural travel fund is supplemented by Sport Northland’s allocation of $25,000 from the KiwiSport regional participation fund targeting barriers for participating youth.

“The rural travel fund is there to reduce the barrier of travel for young people to participate in sport,” explains Sport Northland Community Advisor Lesley Wallace who advises the Te Hiku Community Board on applications, “quality opportunities for these young players is vital to retain them in and to them  continuing on a pathway in their chosen sport.”

Decentralising competitions encourages local participation however in a spread out area like the Far North it still means travel for some players each week in order to have variety and quality of competition.

Takahue Rugby Club is currently a member of the Te Hiku Sports Hub development group which will see their grounds developed to accommodate not only rugby but be a multi code facilities supporting athletics, cricket, football & league.  While in the early stages of development a committed group will see this development benefit sport in the far North

The future looks promising for this junior rugby club.