Over 500 Hockey Players Take Part In Monster Easter Tournament

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 35, 6 April 1948, Page 6

Over 500 Hockey Players Take Part In Monster Easter Tournament

The Easter Seven-a-side Hockey Tournament held by the Central Bay of Plenty Association at Edgecumbe Domain attracted over 500 hockey enthusiasts from all over the Bay and many fast exciting games were witnessed by all present. Visiting teams from Tauranga and Central Matatua Associations were among the 24 competing teams.

The men’s competition was won by Tauranga and the women’s by Whakatane.

Games were of ten-minute duration, extra time being played only in the finals, and teams were taking and leaving the field in record time. Owing to the large number of teams entered, the competition was played in sections and altogether 27 women’s and 28 men’s games were played on the two fields. Matches were ably controlled by the Whakatane Umpires’ Association and the St. John Ambulance staff were in attendance throughout the day.

Fast, open hockey was the order of the day and the excitement of the supporters grew as the tournament drew to a close with several teams fighting hard for first place.

In the women’s final, Whakatane after a keen hard game, defeated Tauranga by one penalty corner.

In the men’s competition the semifinal between Tauranga and Edgecumbe Roosters was th® highlight of the day. Open, fast hockey was appreciated by the crowd and it was only after 36 minutes of continuous play that Tauranga scored the winning goal. Tauranga then went on to defeat Richmond in the final by one goal after three minutes extra play. After the competition, Mrs Weir, vice-president of the Association, presented the Cup to the Whakatane women’s captain, and Mr Civil Snr. donated and presented a Cup to the Tauranga men’s captain. Both captains replied briefly.. The president,

Mr Ken Civil, then concluded the tournament by thanking the women in the refreshment tents, the officials, umpires, St. John’s and supporters for their assistance and support and congratulated all the teams competing on their co-operation and sportsmanship throughout the tournament. Results of the day’s play follow: Women’s No. 1 Section Points: Whakatane 7, Poroporo 5, Edgecumbe Rovers 5, Richmond 3, Awakeri A O.No. 2 Section: Tauranga 8, Te Teko 7, Paroa 6, Taneatua 7, Awakeri B 0. Final: Whakatane v Tauranga won by Whakatane. Men No. 1 Section Points: Tauranga 8, Whakatane 6, Awakeri 4, Taneatua 2, Rovers 0. No. 2 Section: Roosters 8, Rangers 5, Awakeri 5, Te Teko 2, Wairaka B 0. No. 3 Section: Richmond 8, Awakeri A 6, Wairaka A 3, Poroporo 3, Riverslea 2. Semi-final: Tauranga v Edgecumbe Roosters won by Tauranga. Final: Tauranga v Richmond won by’ Tauranga.