ANENDRA SINGH
Hawke's Bay has staged another coup - this time in volleyball.
A delighted Volleyball Hawke's Bay development officer Kathryn Samia (right) has announced that the Pettigrew-Green Arena, in Taradale, will be the venue for the Transtasman Quadrangular Tournament in June next year.
The 2005 under-19 tournament, which is under way on the Gold Coast this week, comprises teams from North Island and South Island, and one each from Queensland and New South Wales. At the end of the round-robin matches, New Zealand and Australian test teams selected from the four teams then play off against each other. New Zealand won the title last year.
Hawke's Bay students Davis Ataera, of Napier Boys' High School, and Charlotte Kight, of Woodford House, are in the Brisbane competition, where Ataera's North Island team are defending their title.
The North Island men have had a 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-13) win over NSW on Wednesday while the North Island women had a tougher battle before pipping NSW 3-2 (21-25, 16-25, 25-16, 25-14, 15-12). The South Island women lost 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-13) to Queensland while the southern men also tasted 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Queensland men (25-22, 21-25, 25-14, 25-23).
However, Samia says while Hawke's Bay has previously hosted the North Island Championships and the New Zealand Club championships, this was a great opportunity to profile the code in the province.
The province fended off strong contenders Bay of Plenty to host the 2006 quadrangular from June 14-17. While BOP had the advantage of having hosted the event previously and having a stronger volleyball following, Hawke's Bay's Pettigrew-Green Arena was the bonus factor.
"The arena has great space when it comes to the 'free zone' surrounding the court area, so the facility came up trumps against BOP, who cannot match it," Samia says.
About 90 players and officials are expected for the tournament.
"It'll be a great time for Hawke's Bay to see the cream of talent - who are just one step away from becoming senior national players - showcase their talent," she says.
VOLLEYBALL: Transtasman coup for local arena
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