The Celebration Box Under-18 Netball Champs took place over four days in Hamilton last week, and was the country’s first provincial netball tournament for boys.
The Invercargill team was the only one to represent the South Island.
Beginning the tournament with gusto on day one, the Invercargill team beat both Howick Pakuranga 29-27 and Tauranga 29-25.
The following two days saw losses against Hutt Valley, Hamilton City, Dannevirke and Waitakere, although the team placed 5th after a round robin.
Day four of the tournament saw the boys make a comeback against Dannevirke, beating them 26-24 for fourth place in the overall tournament.
Coach Rosie Cullen said she was very proud of how the boys played, and said one of their biggest matches was against Waitakere.
"They were actually really competitive with them most of the game.
"They just had so much fun playing it."
The tournament marked a few departures for the team, who were playing on outdoor courts for the first time and usually stuck to one game a week.
She said she was proud of the culture in Southland that enabled the boys to take part in the sport.
"Some of the areas up there have been trying to get boys netball up and running, but they have got a bit of a barrier at some of the schools saying ‘our boys aren’t playing netball’, whereas we don’t have that down here.
"They’re very pumped for next year, and hopefully they’ll entice a few mates to tag along."
