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Last modified: 26 Aug 2024 1:38pm

Selwyn-based player Dylan Moore in action for Canterbury at the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament at the Selwyn Sports Centre

Selwyn-based player Dylan Moore in action for Canterbury at the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament at the Selwyn Sports Centre

The sports facilities in the Selwyn district are firmly on the radar for New Zealand sporting bodies to host their high-profile events.

On Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July, Basketball New Zealand hosted the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament at the Selwyn Sports Centre and event organiser Matt Vernick was hugely impressed with the facilities of the eight-court arena in Rolleston.

“The feedback from the players and coaches was that the quality of the courts, accessibility and staff at the Selwyn Sports Centre is absolutely fantastic,” said Vernick after NZBB’s first foray into the Selwyn District. National and South Island football, rugby and basketball tournaments are also coming to the district in the coming months.

The Selwyn District Council has invested heavily in its sports facilities around the district. The Selwyn Sports Centre and Selwyn Aquatic Centre in particular are used frequently by sports and community groups from all over the district and the rest of the country.

James Richmond, Head of Sport and Recreation at the Selwyn District Council says the staff are proud to welcome high-profile events to showcase the facilities they manage.

“Naturally, our main customers are our local community, from the kids hiring a court after school to regular clubs and community groups, but it is a huge buzz when you see the look on the faces when national and international players first see our sports centre, our pools and artificial turfs,” says Richmond.

The players competing at the Wheelchair Basketball National Tournament ranged from players competing in their first tournament to those who represent New Zealand on the global stage and included Burnham-based players in the I Am Kiwi NZDF team and Selwyn-based players Dylan Moore and Katie Bourke.

Canterbury Rugby last week had hoped to play its men’s NPC pre-season match against Otago at Rolleston’s Foster Park, but the weather earlier in that week made the playing surface unsafe and forced them to move the fixture to Apollo Projects Stadium.

Both the Council and rugby union expressed their disappointment about this missed opportunity for the rugby community but are looking forward to the upcoming Farah Palmer Cup match between Canterbury women’s team and Hawkes Bay in Prebbleton on 14 September at 2.05pm.

The Council team continues to work with a variety of sporting organisations who have booked, or are considering, to use the district’s facilities.

Major events coming to the district in the coming months are the National Secondary Schools football tournament at Foster Park, the South Island U16 rugby tournament at Rhodes Park and the Southern 3x3 Junior basketball tournament at the Selwyn Sports Centre.

“These events will bring large numbers of visitors to the district and bring significant economic benefits to our towns, as well as showing off our district,” says Richmond. “And as word gets out in the sporting community, I think the outside demands will only grow to put Selwyn on the national sporting map.”