It has been worth the wait for Dunedin hockey fans.
The Ford National Hockey Championships has been taking place this week at the Alexander McMillan Hockey Centre and Otago Community Trust King’s Turf.
Otago Hockey chairwoman Tania Cassidy said it had been 40 years since Otago hosted a tournament of this calibre and size.
‘‘My hope is that the tournament will be memorable and mana enhancing for all involved.’’
This was the first time the city had hosted a combined men’s and women’s championship.
Otago Hockey competitions manager Bonnie Gradwell said it was exciting to be hosting the ‘‘awesome’’ events.
Thirty-five teams are taking part and with 70 games scheduled across three turfs, there had been plenty of action to follow.
On Monday, tier 1 women’s teams North Harbour and Otago faced off at Otago Community Trust King’s Turf.
In a fast-paced and action-packed game, Otago made a brave showing but could not quite win the day, with the final score 5-1 to North Harbour.
However, the tier 1 Otago men’s team had more success, beating North Harbour 5-2.
The competition wraps up at the end of the day on Saturday.
