Taupo Netball Centre has received a grant of $4,300 from the NZCT towards the cost of new equipment and uniforms.
Operations Manager Angela Montgomery says, “We provide netball facilities for the entire Taupo and surrounding district in the Waikato, for players five years-old up to seniors.”
“In order to ensure there are development and competitions for every age group, including a very popular mixed men’s and women’s competition, we required financial assistance to purchase new representative and development uniforms and equipment.”
“The funding from NZCT will guarantee that representative teams within our district - from Year 9 up to Under-18s - will have quality equipment available for every player, as well as uniforms they can be proud of. It will also allow us to keep players' fees to a minimum, enabling everyone in the local community who wants to practice and play netball the opportunity to participate.”
Operations Manager Angela Montgomery
The Club has a storied history. When Mrs Betty Reid came to Taupo in 1952 fresh from the Auckland Teachers' Training College to teach at the Taupo District Highschool, basketball (as the sport was then called) was only played in the schools, the main women's sport in the winter being hockey. Mrs Reid's favourite sporting codes were tennis in summer and netball in winter, so she established the Taupo Basketball Sub-Association in 1953 with three basketball clubs (Highschool, Huka, and Crusaders).
Many international netball players are alumni, including Louisa Wall (an outstanding athlete and a brilliant scholar at Taupo nui-a-Tia College) who took her place as the youngest member of the 'Young Internationals' squad to train under former New Zealand Captain and Coach, Lyn Parker, in 1988. The following year she was named in the New Zealand Silver Ferns Netball Team.
In 2003, the Taupo Netball Association celebrated its Golden Year Jubilee and now boasts an annual membership of about 1,800 players. It has ten full courts, one half warm up court, and four outdoor shelters that provide much needed shelter and seating for players and spectators