G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa is excited to reveal the full 2024 schedule which will tip off Friday October 4th when the Tokomanawa Queens host the Southern Hoiho in a re-match from last season's semi-final. This years schedule features 5 teams contesting 30 games across a 10-round regular season that will culminate in the Final 4 with the Championship game being played on December 22nd.
Every game will be broadcast live on Sky Sport and for the first time ever the league will be featured on TikTok, with every Sunday afternoon game being streamed live on one of social medias fastest growing platforms.
With roster numbers increasing in size for all teams in anticipation of international expansion coming to the league in 2025, this year's competition will feature a greater influx of overseas talent as the league continues to go from strength to strength.
The schedule shifts to its new home on the calendar, now to be played from opening night on 4th October through to the Grand Final on December 22, where fans can watch and engage with the best level of women's professional basketball to grace New Zealand's shores, just at a different time of year. Even more exciting is that the tweaks to the makeup of rosters will see more Kiwi women get the opportunity to play at this level than ever before.
General Manger of Leagues Maree Taylor says, "With G.J. Basketball Aotearoa Tauihi's new home on the calendar locked in we're looking forward to exposing the top women's talent in the country to a new audience to help give our athletes the opportunity for even greater recognition of their talents. The seasonal shift will make New Zealand a more attractive destination for the top women's players on the planet leading to an uplift in the level of play for this season and beyond as we prepare to take the league offshore in 2025."
The shift in season has allowed for games to be scheduled exclusively from Thursday to Sunday with the 10 regular season rounds seeing an even split of Thursday and Friday games (5 for each day) with the majority of weekend day's hosting a game each day to make the league even more accessible to our youngest fans.
The Rapid League returns for its second season of activity and will again highlight the developing talent across the nation as every G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi game will be preceded by the growing in popularity format of the game.
The schedule will see the rematch of the 2022 and 2023 championship games in round 2 on Sunday October 13th as the Tokomanawa Queens host the Northern Kahu at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua in what has become one of the more hotly contested rivalries in the competition.
For the first time the city of Taupo will host Tauihi regular season games as the Tauranga Whai welcome the Tokomanawa Queens on Saturday October 26th in round 4 and return to take the court against the Southern Hoiho the following week on Saturday November 2nd.
Palmerston North will also get to experience the excitement of Tauihi across two rounds of action when the Queens welcome the Southern Hoiho to Fly Palmy Arena on Sunday November 17th before returning on Saturday November 30th to host the Tauranga Whai.
The sure to be thrilling regular season will culminate on Sunday December 8th when the Northern Kahu return to Whangarei to host the Tokomanawa queens for a final rematch of 2024's title game, this time at McKay Stadium.
The introduction of a home finals schedule also comes to the league in 2024, with semi-finals to be hosted by the competitions top two seeds on Saturday December 14th and Sunday December 15th before the top remaining seed hosts the grand final on the 22nd of December.
