The Auckland Open Club Tournament saw nine teams competing across the two-day event that marks one of the biggest on New Zealand’s handball calendar. Two titles were decided at the tournament on May 18 and 19, with Auckland Pirates claiming the men’s trophy and AKL Women celebrating the women’s gold.

17 matches were played at the event held in Auckland, with the champions, the Auckland Pirates and AKL Women, both emerging undefeated. While three teams participated in the women’s competition, six played for the men’s trophy.

The Pirates defeated Auckland School Boys 29:19 in their opening match, then recorded wins over the Canterbury Quakes (23:19) and Otago Shags (31:18). In the final, they defeated Barbarians HC (34:24) to claim the title. At the conclusion of the tournament, Barbarians HC thereby ranked second ahead of Canterbury in third.

The women’s competition winners, also from Auckland, beat Canterbury Quakes 32:25, Otago Shags 44:21 and Canterbury Quakes 29:24 in a round-robin format. Canterbury finished as the runners-up in the women’s event, while Otago placed third.

The top scorers of the men’s competition were the Pirates’ Tim Schubiger and Barbarians’ Luke Naylor with 30 goals each. Canterbury’s Julie Mariotti-Gjesing was the top scorer of the women’s tournament, with a tally of 44. Luke Ireland was named Most Valuable Player in the men’s event, while Jorien Scholten was selected as MVP in the women’s.

Photos: Auckland Region Handball