One of the stars in the district's heyday was Jenice Geddes. Her granddaughter, Ellie Steel, showed yesterday that hockey skills continue in the family.
Ellie was fullback for the Central Otago under-15 team that beat Taranaki 3-0 in the national championship tournament at the McMillan Centre.
Her mother, Carolyn Steel (nee Crossan), who also played for Maniototo, was watching from the sidelines. She still lives in Ranfurly.
''I love this tournament. It is very exciting, '' she said.
''I took a week off work to come to Dunedin and it makes me want to play myself.''
Mary Naylor (nee McCloy), another former Maniototo representative, was also watching from the bank. Her daughter, Bridgette, was goalie in the Central Otago team.
The Central Otago player of the game yesterday was Macaela Turfus, from Poolburn. She scored two goals. Her twin sister, Caitlin, was also in the team.
The other Central Otago goal was scored by Molly Pimm.
Central Otago drew its first game with Thames Valley 1-1 and then lost to Wellington 2-1. It found winning form yesterday.
In other games yesterday, Auckland beat Mid Canterbury 2-0, Canterbury beat Hawkes Bay 7-0, Wellington beat Thames Valley 4-0, and North Harbour and Waikato drew 0-0.
Otago continued its winning form when it trounced Taranaki 9-0 in the premier under-15 boys tournament in Auckland. Mitchell Rogers scored four goals.
In the girls under-15 premier tournament in Timaru, Otago was beaten 1-0 by Southland.
In the under-15 boys championship tournament in Christchurch, Otago had a 1-1 draw with Hawkes Bay, and North Otago was beaten 3-0 by Wanganui.
