Western News: February 08, 2024

4
Thursday February 8 2024
Growing sports association fosters
ŌTAUTAHI Sports Association
is synonymous with Māori sport
in Christchurch. It has also seen
a big growth in membership in
recent years. So how did it all
come about?
The association is more than
just a traditional sports club.
Based in the central city, the
organisation is strengthening its
ties to the community and supporting
generations of whānau to
participate in sport and cultural
activities.
The club offers rugby, netball,
softball, touch, and tag teams to
its registration base, which has
grown to almost 700 members.
It also delivers cultural activities
such as a whānau hauora programme,
including mahi toi,
waiata practice, te reo Māori
initiatives, and Matariki events.
Many of the organisation’s early
members participated in the
Māori Trade Training Scheme,
bonding through their inaugural
rugby team and helping to grow
the kaupapa to what it is today,
a whānau-focused hub of sports,
recreation, and culture.
“We have a long, rich history
with Rehua Marae, and that is
through the whakapapa of the
Māori Trade Training kaupapa
because a lot of our members
originated from that marae,” said
co-chair of Ōtautahi Sports Association
Aromia Merito.
IN ACTION: Rugby, being played here by the Taniwha U11 team at Lancaster Park, is one of the many sports offered by
Ōtautahi Sports Association.
The club’s popularity can be
seen in the 48
per cent increase
in its membership
numbers
since 2020. With
their registered
members, 130
Aromia
volunteers, and
whānau involvement,
the wider
Merito
community associated with the
club is now in the thousands.
Māori and Pasifika numbers
have also increased, which
Merito attributes to their focus
on whanaungatanga (family
connections) and manaakitanga
(generosity).
“Our kaupapa is heavily fostered
on whanaungatanga and
manaakitanga and what that
means for our whānau who have
come from the North Island,”
Merito said.
“It’s that sense of belonging;
You’re away from your iwi, you’re
away from your hapū, and you’re
away from your whānau. So
they’re looking for that connection
to home, and that’s what our
rugby club started from.”
Division two rugby coach
Corey Te Rupe says he grew up
around Ōtautahi Sports, as his
father was an early member of
the club.
“I love the camaraderie,” he
said.
“I’ve made lifelong friends who
I consider whānau through the
club.”
With its focus on whānau and
community, Ōtautahi Sports is
proud to be home to four generations
of whānau. During the
2022/23 softball season, the Merito
and Hepi whānau celebrated
their great-mokopuna taking
the field as fourth-generation
members.
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