Supporting the Kaikohe Rugby Club
On the 19th August the Far North Team took the Northern RS BBQ to Kaikohe Rugby Club and put on a free sausage sizzle for the kids. There were seven U9 teams playing in a tournament which was the last day of rugby for the season.
While the day started clear after overnight rain we got caught with a brief storm passing through consisting of torrential rain and hail in the last few minutes of play so the hot sausages as the kids left the field was appreciated.
Recreational Services Celebrates 25 years
This month Recreational Services turned 25 years old. To celebrate the incredible journey and to thank our communities for their ongoing support, each of the teams around the country took some time to pay it forward in their own unique way with random acts of kindness.
In great kiwi style The Far North team put on two BBQ’s for the community. The first was enjoyed on the Kerikeri Domain and the second in Memorial Park in Kaikohe.
While the BBQ in Kerikeri was a little more quiet than expected, mainly due to the distance from the main street – Kaikohe took one for the team and made up for it with plenty of locals and Council staff enjoying the spread which was good to see. One of the Council employees - Matangi - even helped out with the BBQ and was demanding a Waiata before giving away the few left over sports drink bottles that we had.
A big thank you to all the locals who came along to support and celebrate with us and to our staff that came along to help out with these events. Particularly the mowing guys, Mark, Cameron and Tangata who are really under the gun with the growth that has been experienced over the past few weeks.
Big Head Shave 2015
A Far North charity has smashed the world record for the most heads shaved in an hour. The Bald Angels big shave at Keri Keri's Turner Center saw 462 people lose their locks to a team of 10 clipper-wielding hairdressers. The amount raised is not yet known, however the money raised will go to vulnerable children and their families in Northland.
Recreational Services registered a team of 8 who took on the challenge and helped contribute to the success of the event. Well Done guys!
Boxing
We have paid Blake Hodge's boxing membership for a year to encourage him in his sports development.
Blake is 18 years old and has been boxing since 2009, originally to get fit for Rugby as he wanted to make the Taniwha Cup team (which he did). So after a couple of years of doing both rugby and boxing, Blake decided to quit rugby and pursue boxing.
In 2012 Blake represented Northland in the North Island Golden Gloves 54kg novice division which he went on to win a gold medal. He got #1 in New Zealand for that weight division. Since then, Blake has won a 69kg Auckland title and represented Auckland 3 times at Nationals and won bronze.
This year at Golden Gloves Blake was runner up to a 4 times NZ Champ which ranks him #2 in NZ at 69kg. He has now qualified for the Auckland team to attend Nationals in Invercargill 7-11 October and has decided to fight at a lighter weight (64kg) to challenge himself, which means a lot more training and healthy eating to keep his weight down.
Netball
We have bought Paua Rangers netball team them their team track pants and supplied them with sports bottles.
We have also supplied a number of the Netball teams with sports bottles.
Schools
Kerikeri Rugby Club were again supplied with sports drink bottles as was Waima school and the Okaihau Rugby Club.
Rugby Clubs
Okaihau Rugby Club has been given $1000 toward a lighting project. Currently they just have two lights on the field to train under. The project is a two stage plan. Currently 6x 2000W lights have been purchased (sitting in my shed) and 6x 18m poles have been purchased.