Featured

Honours shared at IPC Beach

Three different regions claimed gold in the four age groups at the 2024 Inter-Provincial Beach Championships at Mt Maunganui on Thursday.

In the boys event, Waikato’s Liam Smith and Jaxon Stone took out the competition seeing off the Taranaki combination of Lucas Heggie and Zalan Lizan in the final.

In the girls’ competition, Canterbury’s pairing of Keira Rooney and Emma Mason were thrilling three-set winners over Kalea Norton and Kaia Buckley (Harbour).

In the U-17 age group, Harbour’s Riley Scott and Malekh-Kai Baatjies edged out Era Taie and Ben Peat (VBOP) in another tight three-set encounter. Waikato’s Joe Agar and Bjorn Fitch grabbed the bronze medal.

Meanwhile, Harbour’s Mia Hendren and Jasmine Rugg saw off their regional team mates Sienna Hickling and Molly Caunce in two sets in the girls final while Canterbury’s Hannah Millar and Mailina Pulega finished in third position.

Click here for the full results from the 2024 Inter-Provincial Championships.

Inter-Provincial Beach Championships 2024 Results
Mt Maunganui Main Beach


U-19 Boys

Gold – Liam Smith/Jaxson Stone (Waikato)
Silver – Lucas Heggie/Zalan Lizan (Taranaki)
Bronze – John Petrucci/Davi Pacheco (Harbour)

U-19 Girls
Gold – Keira Rooney/Emma Mason (Canterbury)
Silver – Kalea Norton/Kaia Buckley (Harbour)
Bronze – Lani Rawle/Maisey Lendrum (Harbour)

U-17 Boys
Gold – Riley Scott/Malekh-Kai Baatjies (Harbour)
Silver – Era Taie/Ben Peat (Bay of Plenty)
Bronze – Joe Agar/Bjorn Fitch (Waikato)

U-17 Girls
Gold – Mia Hendren/Jasmine Rugg (Harbour)
Silver – Sienna Hickling/Molly Caunce (Harbour)
Bronze – Hannah Millar/Malina Pulega (Canterbury)

Featured

IPC starts summer of beach action

A bumper 2024 summer of beach volleyball action gets underway at Mt Maunganui Main Beach on Tuesday with the Volleyball New Zealand Inter-Provincial Beach Championships.

A total of 105 teams – the biggest the competition has seen - across four grades in U-17 and U-19 age groups will take part in the three-day event.

Eleven of the 15 Volleyball New Zealand Regional Associations will be represented on the sand from Tuesday. Harbour Volleyball will contribute 37 of the teams while local hosts Volleyball Bay of Plenty (VBOP) have 25 pairs in the event.

The VBOP involvement in the event goes beyond the teams involved, with the Regional Association engaged by Volleyball New Zealand to take a leading role in the delivery of the event.

VBOP General Manager Paul Braddock will serve as the Tournament Director for the IPC with the Regional Association providing a range of additional roles.

Volleyball New Zealand Chief Executive Steven Upfold says the direct involvement of the Regional Association is an exciting development for the game.

“A lot of work has gone into a review of our event-delivery model recently and we’re excited to be working in closer collaboration with our Regional Associations moving forwards,” Upfold said.

“Paul and the team at Volleyball Bay of Plenty are well-placed to take a lead in these summer events in Mauao and we’re excited to get into the first one with the IPC this week.”

The first matches of the Inter-Provincial Championships begin on Tuesday. you can follow the results via the competition website home here.

The week of action on the sand then continues on Friday with the Tertiary Championships before the first event in the G.J. Gardner Homes NZ Beach Tour presented by Tip Top from Friday – Sunday.

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