Tamai Sports is a Christchurch-East sports organisation that provides tamariki aged 8-11 the opportunity to participate in organised sport, learn new skills and strengthen their hauora (health & well-being). We operate out of the Tamai Learning Cluster - made up of Bromley, Te Aratai, Te waka Unua and other schools. Participants of Tamai are selected by the Tamai Learning Cluster as individuals who would benefit the most from the benefits which Tamai provides.

In this winter season, we have grown to include 86 tamariki and their whānau’s from the 6 schools within the Tamai Learning cluster. Considering the large barriers in the way of youth playing sport, the tamariki involved in Tamai have generally had no previous experience or opportunity to take part in organized sport. Regardless, they all show remarkable growth both on the field in their sport on the field and as humans off of it.  

Originally beginning as a rugby organization, Tamai Sports has grown into a multi-code sports organization to ensure that the tamariki have a choice of pursuing whichever code interests them the most. This winter term, our 86 tamariki make up 7 teams competing in three codes - football, rugby and netball!

To grow our  football this season, we have partnered with Coastal Spirit FC to give our tamariki the opportunity to play football in the Junior Mainland Football competitions. We have a girls and boys team competing in the McDonald’s Girls 10th Grade - Kōwhai and the McDonald’s mixed 11th Grade - Parauri, respectively. Of the 86 Tamai participants, 29 take the field in green to chase the round ball with smiles on their faces. If you see us around your local club or at Cuthbert’s Green on a saturday morning, make sure to say “kia ora”!

Further, at Tamai, we take a holistic approach to our engagement with the tamariki, providing a flexible and dynamic program on and off the pitch. This year, we have partnered with He Waka Tapu to provide our tamariki with culturally-sensitive well-being workshops on each training night. Currently, the focus of these workshops is goal-setting and the creation of our own Haka. 

Then, to end each training night, the whole program - and any whānau that are early - come together to share kai together. Our kai is prepared by an amazing team of volunteers who put together nutritious and diverse meals for the tamariki. They have even become experts at hiding veggies for our more particular eaters! 

Tamai Sports operates on the belief that participation in a safe team sports environment has countless positive effects for tamariki, their whānau and communities' well-being. Unfortunately, there are many barriers in the way of youth participation in sport which include, but are not limited to, financial costs, transportation, time and social barriers. Therefore, we strive to ensure that nothing gets in the way of our tamariki’s participation - removing or overcoming whatever barriers face our whānau’s. 

This is a resource-intensive endeavor which we could not achieve without our amazing team of volunteers and coaches, whānau’s, and community partners such as Coastal Spirit FC and Mainland Football. If you are interested in getting involved with Tamai Sports, in whatever capacity suits you best, please reach out to Ben Hamilton bhamilton@tamaisports.co.nz. Further, if you are wanting to support us financially, we are always grateful to accept your donations here. 

We look forward to seeing you around our Football clubs in the near future!

Article added: Tuesday 27 June 2023