JUNIOR players all kitted out: the first King Country junior representative touch players in a generation. Photo supplied.
THERE has been a touch revival in the King Country. For the first time in 27 years, the province is sending teams to the Masters nationals in Palmerston North next week.
The teams will be over 40s men, over 30s men, over 27 womens.
The open grade nationals will be played in Rotorua next month.
Over 40s player and manager at the Te Kūiti Gallagher Centre, Hika Rata, ascribes the resurgence in interest to Eden Anderson.
“Her and her family recently moved back, and realised touch was missing and had been for some time,” he said. “She started a module last November and from that module we have a King Country team to go to the nationals.”
The Ōtorohanga module was granted the use of a field at the island reserve on Wednesday nights, and 12 teams played this summer. The season finishes next month. Touch is also being played in Taumarunui and Piopio.
That’s just the start, Hika said.
“There are opportunities coming up next year for more teams. We had to actually turn away six teams because we didn’t have the space for them.”
There were conversations ongoing with Te Kūiti High School about using high school fields, which already runs a junior competition, and with the Waitomo District Council about the use of Centennial Park where they could play eight games at once.
“Touch and soccer don’t do much damage to the grass, there’s no scrummaging and no sprigs,” Hika said.
Eden said touch was originally started in the King Country by her aunty, the late Paula Wanakore, whose tangi was held at the Kahotea Marae on February 2.
Paula was running the touch back in the 90s, and when she and Tama Wanakore later left for the Gold Coast, the game was left behind, she said.
“No one continued it on, so it’s been well over almost 30 years.
“We still have the original photo of one of the King Country mixed teams; it was 1996 when uncle Tama Wanakore was playing.”
The Gray family in Ōtorohanga offered to sponsor three sets of playing singlets for the children and Eden asked friends and family in Australia who own a sportwear company to help so they designed the uniforms.
In November last year, they took three teams – under 10s, 12s, and 14s – to the Waikato contingent day.
“All the Waikato kids got to play touch against each other,” she said. “They got to represent the King Country and play against Waikato. Their first massive tournament ever.”
Another part of Paula’s legacy was the ease with which the new province glided through the Touch NZ process to play as a province.
“In order to do that, we had to get approval from Touch New Zealand. I submitted it to the board, and they came back with an approval. That doesn’t always happen for provinces with regard to touch.”
She said normally they would first have been permitted to play in other provinces as an invitation side, or with dispensation for a couple of years.
“They gave us all rights to run as our own province. We can play in the finals and not as an invitational side, we don’t have to wait for two years before we can play in finals.
“There are no barriers. We just go as a province and represent our province, and we can win a title, pretty much.”
The King Country was originally established as a province by her aunty.
“We just needed to form a committee, two or three people; because they had seen that there was so much interest already.”
With her partner, Murray, involved she said Touch NZ knew they would keep the provincial touch running to build the association.
There are five senior teams heading for nationals and three kids’ teams.
“We have done quite a lot in the past couple of months,” Eden said. “I think it’s more just because we know that touch is huge in the King Country.
“I grew up in Ōtorohanga literally straight across the road from Island Reserve when I was little, and I knew how massive it was. Everyone used to play touch in Ōtorohanga. The whole town would be involved.”
After putting out a notice for a skills day, they are still getting people ringing.
“They are coming from everywhere. We had people come from Taranaki, they travel from near and far just to represent their province.
“These are teams of 14 kids, and they just come out of nowhere. They just all wanted to play touch. So, we put them all into teams, and they are away. These under 10s, they’re playing against adults at the moment, and they are amazing.”
