Covid nets Aotearoa Māori Tennis tourney

PHOTO: Aotearoa Māori Tennis Association

Waatea Team Selection from Dick Garratt | CEO of Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa Charitable Trust

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Another major Māori event has been shelved due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

One of the oldest sports events in the country, the annual Aotearoa Māori Tennis Tournament is traditionally held between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

Organiser Dick Garratt says it’s heart-breaking given the whānau-friendly competition would have celebrated its 95th anniversary.

“We’re endowed with a very strong kaumātua representation above our executive and it was at the wish of Sir Tamati and Lady Tilly Reedy that we think of the wellbeing and health of our people, and the uncertainty around the logistics to put a tournament on,” Dick Garratt says.

“And so it was mainly around the health and wellbeing of our whānau and the rest of our kaumātua agreed – people like David Goldsmith, the Venerable Wiremu Kaua … we have to move on the tournament to the following year.”

Aotearoa Māori Tennis will return to Waikato-Tainui at the end of 2022.

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