Mid Canterbury has won the Senior Whakataetae netball title for the second consecutive year following a dominant final against old foes South Canterbury in Ashburton on Sunday.

The competition was contested between teams from Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, Selwyn and Nelson, over two days in round robin play.

In the final game, both Mid and South Canterbury each had two wins from two games which set up their final game against each other. And it was a tight contest from the outset, right up until half time.

The southern side led by one at the end of the first quarter, before Mid Canterbury tied things up at half-time 24-all.

So often it’s that third quarter – the championship quarter – where games are won and lost, but on Sunday the arm wrestle continued and by the last break there was still just a couple of goals in it, with Mid Canterbury in the lead 35-33.

A Mid Canterbury centre pass to start the fourth quarter ensured the home side started with some momentum, and that momentum gradually built along with the margin, and by the final whistle Mid Canterbury had taken it out by what —  on paper —  looked like a relatively comfortable margin, 55-42.

But, it was a tight tussle, and one South Canterbury will no doubt take learnings from as they head to Napier this week, as one of only two South Island teams – along with Christchurch – to contest the Netball NZ Open Champs.

Mid Canterbury and their southern foes were the two dominant sides at the Senior Whakataetae this year.

Mid Canterbury started their platform building with a 61-54 win over Nelson in game one, and backed that up with a 77-44 win over Selwyn in their second game on Saturday.

It was a similar story for South Canterbury, beating Selwyn 74-43 in game one, before beating Nelson 74-48.

Those results meant Sunday’s first game between Selwyn and Nelson ended up being a battle for third, with Nelson coming out on top of what was a tight contest for much of the hour, 56-49.

Of the four teams in Ashburton at the weekend, Nelson remains the only team yet to get their name engraved on the Senior Whakataetae trophy.

The Senior Whakataetae tournament is aimed at tier two level netball centres from around the South Island. It was soft-launched by Mid Canterbury in 2022 — which they won — before being officially named the Senior Whakataetae and a trophy created in 2023.

In that first year, it was South Canterbury who took it out, while Selwyn won it in 2024, and Mid Canterbury won the 2025 tournament, meaning their win in 2026 is the first time a team has successfully defended the title.