Basketball in Kaitaia is going off and there simply aren’t enough hoops to go around.

The Kaitaia Basketball Association (KBA) has seen an increase in the number of players wanting to participate in one of the fastest growing sports in New Zealand.

The association has just started their adult competition with 16 teams on a Wednesday night, while the junior competition also has 16 teams playing on a Friday evening.  The junior competition caters for players in U11 – U15 grades and the association also provides skills and small sided games for U9s too. The association has changed its playing format to ensure that teams get two shorter games per night in order to complete a round of matches within the time restraints of a school term.

With this increase in teams, the association has recently hosted a free Kiwi Hoops Coaching Clinic as well as providing ongoing referee development.  With the Sure Shot Basketball Academy run by local legend Manuera Riwai providing a comprehensive player development programme and an opportunity to play Maori representative basketball under the Muriwhenua banner, local players are rising to the challenge.

Six Muriwhenua teams attended the recent NZ Maori Basketball Tournament in Rotorua; the biggest indigenous sporting event in Oceania with over 2000 players in 192 teams.

There has been re-engagement with the Northland Basketball Association who held age group trials in Kaitaia and Whangarei before finally announcing their SuperCity and Easter Tournament squads which included approximately 40 players out of the Kaitaia Basketball Association.

The association is also proud of the achievements of their members Freda Riwai, winner of the Female Basketball Code Award and Te Manawanui Tawhara-Crown winner of the Male Youth Basketball Code Award at the 2018 Far North Sports Awards ceremony.

With all this basketball action happening, the current facilities in the area are stretched with Te Puna Ora and the Kaitaia College gymnasiums booked solid while the limited number of local outdoor courts are also in high demand.  With the sport predicted to become the most popular secondary school sport by 2020, the community will need to look at future options for facilities including proposed submissions to the FNDC for more hoops at Jaycee Park and at the Ahipara Domain.

Photo:

U15 Muriwhenua Boys Basketball Team (in orange) at the NZ Maori Basketball Tournament in Rotorua (January 2019).