Thousands of kids to score NRL tickets

AuthorLaura Smith
Published date26 January 2023
Publication titleDaily Post, The (Rotorua, New Zealand)
Kotahi +1 is a Rotorua Lakes Council initiative that last ran in 2019 as a trial. It will allow 3503 lower decile pupils and their whānau to attend the games on February 11 at Rotorua International Stadium

Tickets for tamariki were sponsored by 25 local iwi, trusts and businesses and will be given to pupils at 20 lower decile schools.

Of the 3503 people going as part of the programme, there are 2849 tamariki, 420 school staff and 234 whānau.

Tamariki classes were selected from kura kaupapa, and rumaki units within mainstream primary schools and/or from decile 1 and 2 schools.

Ngongotahā Primary School was among those chosen and principal Craig McFadyen said the school was fortunate to have gotten some tickets to give pupils, and the city was lucky to be hosting the event.

He said they would be surprising the children with the news when they went back to school on January 31.

Teams for the games were announced yesterday, and Big Brothers Big Sisters Rotorua school-based mentor co-ordinator Melissa Gordon said the tamariki could see the players as aspirational “and think, ‘oh, that could be me one day’”.

A lot of the children in the programmes would not have had the opportunity to go to a live game and the fact it was such a high-profile game was extra exciting, she said.

“It’s cool to see something on the international stage highlighted and hosted here.”

The children had not been told yet, and so who would be able to go would not be worked out until the week of the game, she said. Children would either go with a mentor or caregiver.

There were about 70 tamariki in its community-based and school-based programmes.

Rotoiti 15 trust was among the sponsors of the event, and chairman Arapeta Tahana said it was supporting about 200 tamariki from Te Wharekura o Ngāti Rongomai and Whangamarino Primary School to go.

He said it made sense to dig into its pockets given the game featured indigenous teams, which he said promoted pride in culture.

The trust had spent $5850 on...

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