Term 4 2026 Meeting Minutes

Meeting Opened: 3:36 PM

Welcome

Apologies: Kirsten (Waioneke), Nina (Waitakere), Gareth (Lincoln Heights), Olivia (Whenuapai), 

Present: Birdwood, Colwill, Don Buck, Hobsonville, Hobsonville Point, Marina View, Massey, Matua Ngaru, Riverhead, Royal Road, Scott Point, Taupaki, Te Pae, Waimauku, West Harbour, Kumeu Cricket, Auckland Rugby League

Presentations: (See General Business) 

- Charlotte (Kumeu Cricket), Dave (NRL)-Apologies

Term 3 Review:

• Netball
  • A successful day was had this year after being rain-affected last year. Good amount of teams and Tournify was used to create the draw on the day. Thank you to Rutherford College and Hobsonville Point Secondary School for supplying the umpires. They did a great job. The only issue on the day was when it came to the knockout phase and the traditional rule of teams having to win by 2 goals. Due to time constraints, we may need to look at 2 minutes of extra time, and then if still a draw, next goal wins. Thankfully, the coaches in these games were receptive to this on the day.

• YR 5/6 netball. 
  • Another successful day for our yr ⅚ students. We had one issue around a mixed team being entered in the boys' draw. We think there may need to be a limit on students who are playing in a mixed team, i.e. 2 of the opposite sex max. A brief discussion was had around this. We will look into this more at the next two meetings. Umpires from Rutherford and Hobby Point did an outstanding job both days. Thank you to the Trusts Charitable Foundation for their funding on both days to allow us to secure umpires. Only one incident where sportsmanship was questionable. We need to remind ourselves as organisers that when a complaint comes our way, we should step back and breathe before we engage, as teachers should only be the ones bringing the complaints to the organisers. In saying this, thank you to Olivia for running a great day. First time in the job; went well.

• Cross Country
  • Moved venues this year to Kumue Showgrounds. It was a good change from Muriwai as it was closer for schools to travel. The course was good and stood up to the challenge of hosting us. Plenty of positive feedback. Will be back again next year.

• Volleyball
  • Draw worked well this year with 20 teams in each division. Hobby Point Secondary School students were great with the umpiring. Had 8 courts in operation this year. There was only one minor glitch with the Tournify app not loading the last pool result of the day that impacted the knockout phase. All in all, another successful tournament was had by all.

Term 4 Preview:

• Badminton
  • Draw is now ready via Tournify. The link will be sent out in the next day or two via the WhatsApp group. Space for 3 singles in the boys and 2 in the girls if any school has anyone who wants to participate. Students will umpire their own games. 

• Touch
  • Draws are all done, and we are ready for a great couple of days of touch. It is the first time this year that we are running 2 days. Referees are all sorted for Monday. Need to organise transport for Thursday. Drinks and ice blocks will be for sale on the day. Shoes must be worn. There will be 8 fields in operation on the day. The day will start at 9:15 in front of the clubhouse with a briefing for all.

• Yr. 5/6 Cricket
  • Kumeu Cricket is ready to welcome all schools again this year. They currently have umpires from Liston- enough for 9 games. Schools are welcome to enter 2 teams in each grade. If you have more, please reach out to Charlotte, and she will do her best to accommodate. Basic rules will be as per usual. These have been sent out already. Try to arrive by 9:20 for a 9:30 start. Wickets will be a bit more spread out this year to avoid overlapping of games. This will mean that some games are a little further away from the clubhouse. 

• Yr. 5/6 Touch
  • Entries capped at 16 teams in each division. Please be prepared to referee games as, at that time of year, most high schools are finished and hard to find referees. Students must be in shoes/ moulds; otherwise, there will be no play. Will be operating 8 fields on the day

•  Athletics
  • Paperwork is now all online and ready to accept entries. Can all schools please fill in the attendance doc asap so we can make plans for the day sooner rather than later. The topic of qualifying distances came up, particularly in the throwing events. Schools are to include distances in entries if they do not make the qualifying measurements. The organiser has the final decision. 

General Business:

• 2027 Sports Calendar
  • The draft calendar was discussed, and tournament organisers will go ahead with booking the venues as close as they can to the current dates set. Tournament organisers will then email Scott to inform him that the venue and date are confirmed. Scott will book the Trusts Arena for Basketball, Volleyball and Athletics.
  • Athletics is not available at the Trusts in 2027 due to renovations. Scott to reach out to Riverhead Athletics to see if they can accommodate us. Yr ⅚ Tag will be run on the same day as the Yr ⅞ tag in Term 1, instead of Term 4.

• NRL presentation
  • Fea from ARL presented to the group on behalf of Dave McDermott from NRL NZ. The aim of this was to make schools aware of a pilot programme that they want to roll out to schools. We are lucky enough to be one of the groups they want to work with. They would like to host a non-competitive, non-contact form of tag that is 10-a-side, played on a full field. They would like to get an indication of who would like to participate in this. 10 schools indicated they would be interested. If you were not in attendance but would like to, please contact Scott. The NRL do not want to overcommit themselves to this, so they want to keep it manageable. They also intend to come into schools and deliver coaching sessions along with coaching resources for future use in schools.

• 2027 Levy
  • The Zone levy is currently at $4.50. $2.50 for AAIMS and $2 for our zone. It is also $1 for every Year 5 & 6 student at your school. This will increase slightly to cover our expenses.

• Funding
  • We will continue along the path we have started and apply for funding from outside organisations to help us with the running of our events.
  • Budget 2026/ 2027
  • Website: Scott mentioned that we will try to apply for funding for a paid website. What this will allow us to do is have schools enter students into the entry criteria along with basic information like date of birth, gender, ethnicity, etc. Funders like to know who is benefiting from the funding, and this is one way we can work with this. The idea is to use school management systems so as to minimise the workload on teachers.
• 2027 Co-ordinator
  • The group is happy for Scott to continue in the role of Zone Convenor.

Meeting closed: 5:05 pm