About 1200 junior footballers were left sodden and disappointed after rain forced an early end to the Green Island junior football tournament yesterday.
The tournament, marking its 40th anniversary, was curtailed by rain and wind before the semifinals and finals could be held yesterday morning.
Persistent drizzle and occasional showers, coupled with single-digit temperatures, made things hard for the juniors and their supporters.
Green Island Junior Football Club president David Hand said it was a special occasion, being its 40th anniversary, which made the cancellation harder to swallow.
"It is a bit of a disappointment, but the weather beat us on the day,'' he said.
The number of players and teams was heartening, considering the miserable conditions, he said.
The weather may have dented the morale of parents but players remained in high spirits.
"It's awesome,'' Dunedin Tech Phoenix player Josh George (9) said of the wet weather.
In past years it had snowed, so a little water and wind was not enough to worry him, he said.
He had scored two goals while helping his team to two wins from three games, he said.
