The 2019 New Zealand Inter-Zones Underwater Hockey Championships were held in Wellington on the 27th and 28th April 2019.

This year’s tournament saw more teams competing than in recent years with the inclusion of the two Masters teams. As expected, this tournament brought together the top players from their respective regions and the high-quality hockey played is a reflection of this. 14 teams in total competed with a small number of overseas based players attending – with a special mention to Ian Curtain who flew in from Washington DC to play for the Men’s Masters team. Two smaller courts were used for the round robin games and then the large single court for the playoffs and finals. In total 52 games were played.

Some special mentions

• The Women’s Southern team played most games with 6 players and still finished 5th

• All the school players attending this tournament – it’s a great experience for them and provides an opportunity to further develop their skills

• The number of players in the Masters teams returning to the sport at this high level – it’s great to see you all back again

• Players who assisted in refereeing some of the games – thank you all for your assistance

The Results

The Women’s final was a close game between the defending champions, Northern A and Central A with Northern A scoring a goal in each half to win 2-0. The Northern B team beat the impressive Masters team 5-1 to win the bronze medal.

The Men’s final was a very tense and exciting game. Full time saw scores locked up at 1 all between Central A and Northern A. After 10 minutes of sudden death extra time Central A came out on top with a final score 2-1. Mid-Northern won a hard-fought game 4-3 against Northern B to get the bronze.

You can find the final placings here

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