Walking Netball 2026: Team Ngākau Aroha o Tāmaki Reflection

Recently, Team Ngākau Aroha o Tāmaki took part in the Walking Netball 2026 Summer League competition at ANC. The season created a space for wāhine in the community to connect, build confidence, and enjoy being active together through friendly competition and whanaungatanga.

Below, Roxanne shares her reflections and feedback from her experience umpiring the team throughout the season.

“It was so lovely to have something in place for our women in our community to do. I was
glad to be the umpire for the team and the women showed up throughout the five
games of the season. They gave it a real good go and enjoyed the whanaungatanga
and competition with other teams at ANC.

Nani Paddy was one of the feisty players in the team. If you didn’t through the ball to
her, especially if she was free, you’d get your head bitten off. Healthy relationships were
on question, but that’s how she is. One thing I like about nani Paddy, she showed up
and played the game, which is very unusual for her to do. She has been going with
aunty Sirikit the other comp on a Monday to get more practice.

Tania was one of my favorites, she didn’t listen to aunty Sirikit when she was asked her
to give others a turn. Tania was adamant to give the C bib to anyone but herself. So
aunty Rocky had to step in, in a nice way. Tania has a brain injury, but has given her all
for the team and has actually done better then able players. She did out captain toss
ups at the start of each game. She did the cheers at the end of the games and just
brought herself to be part of the team. That is what walking netball was all about, giving
it a go and no one is excluded.

All in all, we had a fantastic time together, and we won one game, yay to us and we
were so excited and surprised at that. I didn’t need to cheat like I did on the other
games. The competition was fierce but our team just had fun and laughed heaps. Sirikit
is planning on having a get together with the team in the new term and get their
feedback. I know it was worthwhile and amazing.”

Overall, the Walking Netball season was a great success, bringing together women in the community to stay active, have fun, and enjoy being part of a supportive and inclusive team environment.