{"id":187000,"date":"2025-12-16T19:31:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T19:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/187000\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T19:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T19:31:08","slug":"aotearoa-nz-maori-rugby-league-pulls-five-major-tournaments-from-rotorua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/187000\/","title":{"rendered":"Aotearoa NZ M\u0101ori Rugby League pulls five major tournaments from Rotorua"},"content":{"rendered":"

The league organisation\u2019s<\/a> chairman John Devonshire said the tournaments had grown since Rotorua started hosting them 13 years ago.<\/p>\n

A 2024 study showed 6019 players took part over the six tournaments.<\/p>\n

Devonshire said those players, plus thousands more coaches, managers, family members and supporters, came from all over New Zealand and Australia<\/a>. <\/p>\n

They brought in millions of dollars to the city over the years, benefiting the accommodation, hospitality, tourism and general business sectors.<\/p>\n

Devonshire said holding the tournaments in Rotorua made sense because of its central location and good accommodation options for large groups.<\/p>\n

The tournaments\u2019 major sponsor, One Foundation, was also based in Rotorua.<\/p>\n

Devonshire said the decision had been made, however, to \u201cfreshen up\u201d their tournaments by \u201csharing the love around the motu\u201d.<\/p>\n

\" Rotorua has lost five of six M\u0101ori rugby league tournaments hosted annually in the city. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Tournaments in 2026 will be held in H\u0101wera, Kerikeri, Hopuhopu near Ng\u0101ruaw\u0101hia and two in Auckland.<\/p>\n

He said it was great to be able to give other regions an understanding of the value of the tournaments.<\/p>\n

While a need for change was the main reason for their decision, he said he hoped the Rotorua Lakes Council reflected on what the city would miss out on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is nice to be able to give the opportunities to the rest of the motu to understand what it is like to host tournaments of this size.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devonshire said he knew it would be a blow for many Rotorua businesses involved in the events industry.<\/p>\n

\"FiveFive of the six Aotearoa New Zealand M\u0101ori Rugby League tournaments will not be hosted in Rotorua next year. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Devonshire said it would help if the Rotorua Lakes Council was \u201ca bit more welcoming, receptive and co-operative\u201d in future, given the large investment and benefit to the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love Rotorua as a venue, it\u2019s centrally located and we have built up great relationships with people in the city over the years. This won\u2019t be forever, we will be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council parks and open spaces manager Rob Pitkethley said all events benefited the community, and it would welcome the tournaments back.<\/p>\n

He said there had been \u201cno approach from organisers to discuss any specific concerns they have or options for keeping these tournaments in Rotorua\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"RotoruaRotorua Lakes Council parks and open spaces manager Rob Pitkethley. Photo \/ Laura Smith<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not unusual for events like this to move around but we would be happy to have further discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitkethley said the team had always worked hard to try to accommodate the popular events, which had grown over time.<\/p>\n

The three biggest tournaments outgrew Puketawhero Park and moved to the Westbrook fields.<\/p>\n

He said the council worked with organisers regarding field bookings and assisting with logistics, and previously provided event management support when it was needed.<\/p>\n

He said field and facility use costs were discounted to recognise economic and social benefits the events brought. This approach was taken for all tournaments and community events.<\/p>\n

The league tournaments also received event funding through RotoruaNZ.<\/p>\n

A RotoruaNZ spokesperson said in a statement it supported events like these that created economic impact for the city and drove visitation.<\/p>\n

Support for the event had not changed and RotoruaNZ was happy to talk with organisers about future opportunities, \u201cespecially given Rotorua\u2019s enthusiasm and appetite for rugby league\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"RotoruaRotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. Photo \/ Laura Smith<\/p>\n

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said she was \u201cdeeply saddened\u201d the five tournaments were going elsewhere.<\/p>\n

She said the council had \u201coften gone above and beyond\u201d to welcome and support the events.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven as mayor, I have proactively reached out and supported them because we are ambitious about the future of rugby league in Rotorua and the many players involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said Rotorua was home to many sporting events because of its ability to host, affordable accommodation and central location.<\/p>\n

Tapsell said the league organisation\u2019s decision may impact the cost and experience for tournament participants, and she encouraged it to consider their feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope to see them return to Rotorua as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

What local businesses think<\/p>\n

Kerris Brown owns Aria\u2019s Farm, a large lodge that counted on repeat business from the tournament sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will cause a substantial loss of income for us \u2026 These groups have told me time and again that they love the place for their larger groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Aria’s Farm in Rotorua. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

She said Rotorua\u2019s accommodation sector had worked so hard to service the team events, and she felt the rug was being pulled from under them.<\/p>\n

Polynesian Spa chief executive officer Gert Taljaard said losing the tournaments was disappointing, but he did not believe it would materially impact the business or destination.<\/p>\n

\u201dI am of the view that our city\u2019s events calendar for 2026 is well served from a volume and value perspective \u2026”<\/p>\n

2026 Aotearoa New Zealand M\u0101ori Rugby League tournaments<\/p>\n

April 24-26: H\u0101wera, Taranaki \u2013 All k\u014dtiro\/girls from Under-13 to Under-17.May 30-31: Bruce Pulman Park, Auckland \u2013 rangatahi boys, Under-15, Under-17July 10-11: Kerikeri \u2013 teina boys, Under-13 and Under-14August 23-24: Hopuhopu, Waikato \u2013 m\u0101t\u0101tahi boys and girls, Under-19September 26-27: Rotorua \u2013 tamariki Under-10, Under-11, Under-12October 24-25: Bruce Pulman Park, Auckland \u2013 tuakana\/adults.<\/p>\n

Kelly Makiha<\/a> is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The league organisation\u2019s chairman John Devonshire said the tournaments had grown since Rotorua started hosting them 13 years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[12889,1342,71,42,14731,661,2720,43,69,28221,1327,6327,40,38,41,39,52170],"class_list":{"0":"post-187000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-aotearoa","9":"tag-five","10":"tag-from","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-league","13":"tag-major","14":"tag-mori","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-nz","17":"tag-pulls","18":"tag-rotorua","19":"tag-rugby","20":"tag-top-news","21":"tag-top-stories","22":"tag-topnews","23":"tag-topstories","24":"tag-tournaments"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}