The nib\u00a0Junior\u00a0$10K relay, which provides a $10,000 funding boost to\u00a0a\u00a0champion school\u00a0or junior rugby club\u2019s\u00a0sports\u00a0resources,\u00a0is on for the fifth year, with\u00a0eight\u00a0teams\u00a0of\u00a010\u00a0runners\u00a0each,\u00a0from Auckland, North Harbour and Northland competing in\u00a0the halftime relay\u00a0during\u00a0the Blues vs Hurricanes match.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The race will be run\u00a0at\u00a0Eden Park on Saturday, 16\u00a0May\u00a02026.\u00a0Registrations are now open, and close\u00a05pm on\u00a06\u00a0May\u00a02026.\u00a0Teams compete\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0$10,000 prize.\u00a0Runners,\u00a0aged between 11 and 13 years of age\u00a0(as of 16 May 2026),\u00a0will run\u00a0on one of New Zealand\u2019s most iconic sporting fields.\u00a0<\/p>\n
nib NZ\u00a0Chief Executive Skye Daniels said the relay\u00a0is\u00a0a lot of fun for runners and their families, encourages\u00a0kids to be active, and rewards\u00a0the winning\u00a0club or school\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0cash\u00a0prize\u00a0that can be spent on\u00a0equipment or\u00a0resources\u00a0that further\u00a0encourages\u00a0an\u00a0active lifestyle. Previous years\u2019 winners have\u00a0put funding toward sports\u00a0facilities,\u00a0equipment, first-aid\u00a0training\u00a0and travel to sport camps.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRacing at Eden Park is an\u00a0unforgettable experience,\u201d Mrs Daniels said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe $10,000 prize gives the winning club or school the chance to invest in what\u00a0they want and need, in terms of sports equipment upgrades or new kit.\u201d<\/p>\n
nib,\u00a0in\u00a0research\u00a0conducted\u00a0in December 2025, found that\u00a0roughly\u00a0three\u00a0in five (61%)\u00a0New Zealanders\u00a0who\u00a0participated\u00a0in the study\u00a0believe the most important lesson to pass\u00a0along\u00a0to young people is how to live a healthy lifestyle.\u00a0Approximately\u00a0one in five (21%) believe wealth is a top priority.\u00a0The findings of\u00a0this\u00a0national\u00a0survey\u00a0give credence to the saying \u2018health is wealth\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s reassuring to know that health and wellbeing remain a priority for\u00a0New Zealanders,\u201d Mrs Daniels said. \u201cOur aim is to\u00a0encourage\u00a0healthy habits through participation,\u00a0connection\u00a0and fun, which is what the relay will be, for all those teams.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Previous\u00a0winners, Kumeu Rugby Club,\u00a0invested\u00a0their\u00a0$10,000 prize\u00a0to build\u00a0a\u00a0new\u00a0women\u2019s\u00a0change\u00a0room, a project that was completed last year.\u00a0Angela\u00a0Pulini, Kumeu Rugby Club\u2019s Junior Coordinator, said the win was hugely beneficial for their club. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith increased participation\u00a0across our junior grades and premier women\u2019s team,\u00a0this upgrade\u00a0has\u00a0enabled\u00a0us to create an environment that supports\u00a0and\u00a0encourages\u00a0female participation,\u201d Ms\u00a0Pulini\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re grateful\u00a0to nib for\u00a0the community backing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blues chief executive\u00a0Karl Budge\u00a0said the Blues are proud to host the relay as part\u00a0of the half-time entertainment at Eden Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see the positive impact the nib Junior $10K Relay has on our grassroots communities,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cSupporting junior rugby clubs and schools with wellbeing initiatives while creating a fun event for kids to get excited about is a prime example of the awesome mahi we accomplish with nib\u00a0due\u00a0to\u00a0our long-standing partnership.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Blues this year celebrate 30 years. nib has been a sponsor of the men\u2019s team since\u00a02013, and in\u00a02021\u00a0began its sponsorship of the women\u2019s team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blues captain,Patrick\u00a0Tuipulotu encouraged local schools and junior rugby clubs to apply\u00a0to enter the relay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor all the kids out there, grab your teammates and make sure you enter,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0all about running hard, having\u00a0fun\u00a0and\u00a0representing\u00a0your school or club.\u00a0We\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0wait to see teams from right across the\u00a0Blues\u2019\u00a0region\u00a0on the\u00a0field.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Local junior rugby clubs\u00a0or\u00a0schools\u00a0interested\u00a0in entering need to tell the Blues and nib in 50 words or less how\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0use the prize money to support the health and wellbeing of their junior players. The final eight teams will be announced on\u00a0Thursday,\u00a07\u00a0May 2026.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each finalist team must have 10 runners.\u00a0Runners must be\u00a0aged between 11 and 13 years\u00a0(as\u00a0of 16 May 2026)\u00a0to compete.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Registrations\u00a0are\u00a0now open\u00a0and close\u00a0Wednesday, 6\u00a0May 2026\u00a0at 5:00 pm (NZST). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The nib\u00a0Junior\u00a0$10K relay, which provides a $10,000 funding boost to\u00a0a\u00a0champion school\u00a0or junior rugby club\u2019s\u00a0sports\u00a0resources,\u00a0is on for the fifth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":622315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-622314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}