Students from three local Kura enjoying the new equipment their collective team received after being awarded the ANZ netball grant. Photo / Supplied
Students from three local Kura enjoying the new equipment their collective team received after being awarded the ANZ netball grant. Photo / Supplied
An ANZ Netball grant means Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngati Kahungunu ki Heretaunga can take their netball game to the next level.
After three Hastings Kura came together to make a netball team, they quickly realised they needed some financial help.
ANZ Netball Grants give netballers across Aotearoa an opportunity to apply for anything they need to continue playing the game they love.
This can be uniforms and training gear or resurfaced courts and money-can't-buy experiences.
Pou of the Wharekura, netball coordinator and coach Raiha Huata applied for an ANZ Netball Grant because this was the first year that three schools; Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Ara Hou and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Wānanga Whare Tapere o Takitimu, had combined to form a netball team.
All three schools have a reasonably small student population compared to other schools in the area Huata said, so the collective team needed new goal posts, footwear and gear.
"As Kura Kaupapa Māori, we are somewhat limited when it comes to providing sporting opportunities to our ākonga for various reasons, the main one being numbers to field teams, let alone be competitive," Huata said.
"At our kura, we've trying to get the kids more active. The kids are naturally athletic but outside of kapa haka they haven't really been interested."
ANZ netball grant has helpd get Kura Kaupapa Māori students active and taking up new sports. Photo / Supplied
The collective team was awarded new netball footwear and training gear, including match and training balls, bibs, spot markers, a ball bag, and new netball hoops to help get the kids into netball.
Huata said she was "blown away" to have received this ANZ Netball Grant.
"We are just extremely grateful," she said.
The new goal posts mean the kura can have a senior and intermediate netball team and now have the facilities for everyone to train at the school.
The coordinator and coach say the grant, especially the footwear, will help to take the pressure off whānau.
"It means that whānau don't have to worry about the cost of shoes, which is a relief as they are quite expensive," Huata said.
A key focus for Wharekura this year is hauora and developing students' physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing.
"We try to eliminate barriers for our students; the kura pays for all fees for any sport."
Huata has a strong personal connection to netball as she played and enjoyed the game while growing up.
"I was fortunate enough to be provided with those opportunities, and I want to provide our tamariki with those same opportunities," she said.
ANZ general manager marketing Matt Pickering says ANZ is proud to support netball from the grassroots clubs and schools in Hawke's Bay to the elite players in the ANZ Premiership and the Silver Ferns.
"Community netball has had it tough over the past two years, so we hope ANZ's support makes it easier for players to continue playing the game they love."
He said that ANZ knows that the clubs and schools across the country help nurture the next generation of players.
"We hope these grants boost teams and fill them with the confidence to play their best game."
