Netballers in resort to have a ball

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The Air New Zealand Golden Oldies World Netball Festival opened in Queenstown last evening with a parade from Queenstown Gardens to Earnslaw Park, where the festival was declared open. Photo by Henrietta Kjaer.

More than 500 netballers in 49 teams from Australia, the Cook Islands, Barbados, Vanuatu and New Zealand braved a cold wind to march in a parade along the Queenstown lakefront as they marked the opening of the Air New Zealand Golden Oldies World Netball Festival in Queenstown.

The teams marched from the Queenstown Gardens along the lakefront to Earnslaw Park, where they were greeted with a Maori welcome from the kapa haka group and speeches from Queenstown Lakes Mayor Clive Geddes, Air New Zealand general manager, direct sales Leeanne Langridge and festival director Corina Ngatuere.

Southern Steel netball coach Robyn Broughton, who is festival ambassador, declared the festival open before the netballers continued to the Queenstown Memorial Hall for the welcome party.

The biennial Golden Oldies festival started 26 years ago but it is only the third time in New Zealand.

The teams will compete at the Queenstown Events Centre today, then on Wednesday and Friday, and will also attend several social events before the festival ends on Sunday.