Toa Whakaihuwaka is a sports tournament for Intermediates across Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Taranaki. It is in its second year of competition but first at the impressive facilities of Massey University, Palmerston North.

Toa Whakaihuwaka is a unique tournament where teams have to qualify through their particular region to go and schools aren’t able to opt in. For us at Rāroa and in WRISSA, to qualify we would have to finish in the top 3 at our WRISSA events and it was fantastic to see our Boys and Girls Football teams qualify as well as our Girls Basketball Team.

Girls Football

We were up in Palmerston North at the Toa Whakaihuwaka tournament. The whistle went for the start of the first of 5 games and I was eager to play some hard games of football. It took awhile for the girls to get into the game but soon we were pressing hard, forcing turnovers and making strong passes into space, this carried on through the rest of the tournament. A highlight was when we faced Hutt intermediate in the pool stage and drew against them ( after previously losing to them at Hutt exchange). By the end of pool play we were in 2nd place and Hutt 3rd, knocking them out of the semifinals.

In the team's downtime we went and supported the boys football team. There was a lot of banter between both teams. At the end of the tournament the girls football team came 4th, with the boys getting 3rd and the girls basketball team coming 5th. It was a really fun and chilled day where you just got to hang out with friends and play your favourite sport.

Boys Football

The Redhawks were all pretty amped to round off the 2024 season with the Toa Whakaihuwaka tournament. After a beautiful pōwhiri hosted by the Palmerston North Intermediates and led by Monrad Tirohanga, we located the football fields and got our bearings ready to start the day with a game against Tamatea Intermediate, winning that one 1-0. We then went on to a 1-1 draw with Hutt Intermediate and 2-1 win against Whanganui Intermediate.

Our results meant we finished our group in second place based on goal difference so faced Tawa Intermediate in the quarter finals. We knew they are a strong team after winning the WRISSA Tournament earlier this year so losing that one 0-3 wasn’t too much of a shock and the boys really held their heads high. Moving into a play-off for 3rd/4th against Hutt Intermediate again the vibe and energy was outstanding with the team mingling, chatting and having a great time with the Hutt team prior to kick-off. We graciously won that 3-1 so ended the day in a very positive way.

The whole team all played their hearts out and conducted themselves really well to represent Rāroa to the best of their ability. Let’s go Redhawks!!!

Girls Basketball

Having been invited to compete in the Toa Whakaihuwaka tournament, the Rāroa Fury were a little unsure of what to expect when we arrived at Massey University on Wednesday morning.

After a tough first loss to Tawa the girls bounced back with a narrow win against Newlands. Our last game of pool play was against Palmerston North Intermediate which we lost a hard-fought game. This placed us 3rd in our pool and playing off for 5th to 8th place.

We set our sights on finishing 5th and after a dominant win against Heretaunga Intermediate and another close win against Newlands, we did just that.

It has been a fantastic way to finish out another great Fury season. The girls played with class and poise throughout the day and were excellent examples of our ASPIRE values.