Wellington Parrots dominate NZHF Beach Handball National Championship

The 2022 edition of the New Zealand Beach Handball National Championship, the second one in history, took place in the sand courts of Pioneer Leisure and Recreation Centre in Christchurch on 26 and 27 February, with 14 teams taking part in three different categories.

Teams from Auckland, Canterbury, Otago and Wellington took part, with seven teams entering the mixed tournament, four teams trying to win the men’s tournament and three sides completing the women’s competition.

More than 60 players took part in the competition that spanned over three days, while two other sides were forced to cancel their participation, due to positive COVID-19 tests in their rosters.

In the men’s competition, last year’s final between the Parrots from Wellington and Pekapeka from Canterbury was replayed, but this time around the latter were defeated by their opponents.

It was a nip-and-tuck game, with the Parrots dominating clearly in the first set (21:4), while Pekapeka took the second set (12:6) to send the game into a shoot-out. Eventually, the Parrots sealed a 9:6 win, securing the title for the first time in their history.

A shoot-out was also requested in the women’s final, played by the same teams, with the same outcome. The Parrots Shawtys sealed the title with a 2-1 win over the Pekapeka Women, after taking the first set (11:8) and conceding the second one (10:11). Eventually, a 4:2 shoot-out win was enough to claim the title.

The most exciting competition was the mixed one, with seven sides taking part. However, it turned into domination from the local side, the Parrots, who entered two teams that both qualified for the final.

The Parrots Mixed 2 team lost the first set against the Parrots Mixed team (8:10) but bounced back admirably, to take the next one 14:9 and the shoot-out 9:5, clinching the overall title.

Therefore, after 41 games played on the two courts in Christchurch, the Wellington Parrots secured all three wins in the second edition of the New Zealand Beach Handball National Championship.

Photos: New Zealand Handball Federation