Boots and balls were in the air for the last big events for Term 2 which saw students from the Whau Cluster take to the football field.

The year 3 and 4 football matches were hosted by and held at St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School.  Ten schools from the Whau Cluster attended including Jireh, Green Bay, Waterview, Arahoe, Glenavon, Rosebank, Avondale, St Mary’s, New Windsor and St Dominic’s schools.

While there were two grades on offer – Grade A (scored) and Grade B (social) - schools mainly opted for social.

Helen Ng, Whau Cluster coordinator at Sport Waitākere, says nearly 130 tamariki attended the event which was funded by Whau Cluster Schools.

“The day provided the opportunity for tamariki to play more competitively or treat it as a social game where they could then further explore the workings of the game and experience operating as a team,” says Helen.

Regardless of which grade they played in, tamariki thoroughly enjoyed the day in the sun.  “I scored my first goal!” said one Year 4 player from Arahoe School.  “I wish we had more games like this,” said a Year 3 participant from Green Bay School.

Blockhouse Bay Intermediate provided five children to umpire the games which gave them the chance to show off their leadership and umpiring skills.

The second event for Year 5 and 6 students was organised and hosted by Bay Olympic and Arahoe School and held at Tahurangi Park.

This was a non-competitive event, umpired by Green Bay High School students.

Mark from Bay Olympic School said “it was awesome to see so many kids out and wanting to play”.

Helen says the events could be even bigger.  “We would really like to see more schools getting behind these football games and more teams enrolling next year.  It’s a fantastic way to get active, learn new skills and make new friends.”

Article added: Thursday 20 July 2023