Northern Football Federation: He is known by his peers as being a big stickler for rules, so it comes as no surprise that Long Bay College student Ben Matthews tried his hand at refereeing. He hasn’t looked back. The 17-year old is a keen footballer and juggling both school and club football commitments meant time wasn’t on his side to take up the whistle earlier. “I had been wanting to be a qualified referee for a long time but I wouldn’t have been able to juggle refereeing and playing for…
Read MoreDay: 13 February 2018
Basketball to overtake rugby, netball as most popular secondary schools sport
1 News Now: Census figures from the New Zealand Secondary School Sports Council show basketball has overtaken football as the third most-played sport. On current growth trends, it will become the most popular in 2020. In 2017 a total of 25,649 secondary school students played basketball in a way deemed by the NZSSSC to be “meaningful engagement” in a school setting. Netball retains top spot despite their numbers falling to 28,455 while rugby has dropped to 26,951. Basketball NZ chief executive Iain Potter says his organisation has been working hard…
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