The first Kurangaituku tournament was played in 1933 and grew to become the largest tournament held in NZ. The "Rotorua Borough Council" ran a Spring Carnival to promote Rotorua as a tourist centre and commissioned master carver, Pine Taiapa, to carve a trophy from a solid block of wood - our magnificent Kurangaituku Trophy named for the woman in the legend "Hatupatu and the Birdwoman, Kurangaituku".
From the small beginnings of 6 representative teams playing on 2 courts at the Government Gardens, the tournament expanded to 100 teams on 10 courts over 2 days at Kuirau Park, and then over 2 weekends on 20 courts, featuring 300 teams. These days, we have to host the tournament over three weekends to accommodate a weekend for school-aged players. However, with our courts resurfaced and numbering only 16, we sometimes have to limit the number of participating teams.
Not only do teams return year after year, but so do the umpires (The Umpires subcommittee looks after all the umpires who are fed and watered upstairs). They all enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and superb organisation of the Netball Rotorua Executive.
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