New Zealand Junior Rugby Festival

12 September 2011
For immediate use

New Zealand Junior Rugby Festival

The biggest national junior rugby festival in New Zealand kicks off in Taupō on September 22.

Grass root teams from around the North Island, Christchurch and South Africa are gearing up to travel to Taupō and participate in the two-day event, now in its third year.

Organiser, Tyrone Campbell says it’s a great festive occasion and an increasingly important event on this country’s rugby calendar. Providing international opposition for some of the New Zealand’s age-group rugby teams is an additional highlight to the tournament.

“It’s a big deal for the clubs to represent their region and it’s a chance for our emerging rugby stars to show their game,” he says. “Having one of the top junior teams from Cape Town join us is exciting.”

The idea of hosting a rugby festival came to Tyrone on his OE five years ago while sitting around a campfire one night in the Scottish Highlands.

“It was a bit crazy, but I believe that if you have a vision and you believe in it, you can make things happen.”

“Getting the festival off the ground was a lot of work, with more than a few challenges a long the way,” he says, “But it keeps getting better and next year we’re combining with the North Island junior netball festival which means an even bigger event bringing around 100 teams to Taupō.”

Teams members are aged between 8 and 14 and with many families having children involved in both sports Tyrone says it made sense to combine the two events, held two weeks apart this year.

“Taupō is a magnet for tourism, “ he says, “And I was keen to bring the event to a place with plenty to offer the teams and their supporters, both on and off the field.”

King Country Rugby CEO David Trewavas agrees and says the tournament is a wonderful way to get teams of all abilities to converge in a great central location to celebrate a much-loved game.

One of Taupō’s top five events, the Junior Rugby Festival makes a significant contribution to the local economy.

A second tournament is held in Queenstown the following weekend.

ENDS

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