Tauihi basketball is changing the landscape of women's sport in New Zealand. In today's Straight Shot, Sky's Justin Nelson gives you the most incredible stat you will read today
photo credit: Cameron Walker
Sport is filled with stats, especially basketball - points, rebounds, assists, steals, shooting percentages, and the list goes on - but this might be the most incredible stat you read today.
G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa is only 67 games old! Yes, that’s the stat - 67 games.
What makes that stat so special?
Well, in a world where sports with decades of legacy are constantly battling with the thought of innovation and change and wrestling with the notion of moving away from ‘the way we’ve always done things’, New Zealand’s professional women's basketball league - Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa - is just two years young and was built on thinking differently, delivering freshness and a modern creativeness.
Tauihi is an environment where players are encouraged to be themselves, personalities are encouraged, team owners are increasingly willing leaders and advocates for women's sport (and good at it), while the stands are quickly filling up with young girls with big dreams.
And ... Tauihi is fun and entertaining. It's taken just 67 games to set the mood for what is a competition already ahead of its time.
From branding to team ownership, elite Kiwi and international players to unique rules, fresh innovations to a popular season timing, and there's the increasing player payments, Tauihi was built differently and is acting differently.
And you better believe Tauihi is spreading its wings, making news and soaring.
The ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens are currently flying the Tauihi flag in China against teams from Japan, Korea and China (read here), while the BNZ Northern Kāhu have just announced a new all-woman ownership group (read here)
Consider these 10 things Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa has achieved in just 67 games:
So yes, with fresh thinking and a thirst for innovation, and private owners with ambitions to elevate women's basketball and deliver an entertainment product, a lot can be achieved in just 67 games.
But ask anyone at any of the five Tauihi teams, including the players, and they'll tell you "Tauihi is just getting started!"
The positive attitude comes from empowerment - it is the players, the team owners, the sponsors and the fans who are all driving the narratives and the stories, the brands and their powerful meanings, the innovations and a fans-first focus on entertainment.
In a global sport, the visiting international players and returning Kiwis are playing Tauihi, loving the experience, and then becoming ambassadors and promoters as they move on and travel to other countries and competitions.
The sense of unity is real. The bond between the players at all five teams is strong and there is a belief amongst the Tauihi family that they are driving change.
It helps to have great partners as well, which Tauihi has, especially naming rights partner G.J Gardner Homes, broadcast partner Sky Television, and major backing from Sal's Pizza, New Balance, Belgravia, Sky Broadband, Chemist Warehouse, BNZ, R-Line, Molten, Basketball New Zealand, CoachMate and the 2Degrees Girls Got Game programme.
By the time this year’s Tauihi final is played on Sunday December 22, it will also double as Tauihi’s 100th game. What a fitting way it will be to celebrate the milestone as the biggest game of the season unfolds and we crown the 2024 champion.
The creation of Tauihi has shown sport can be done differently, it can put the fan in the middle and ensure their needs are being met with every decision being made. Sport doesn’t need to be done the way it’s always been done.
Having fun and being social in pro sport is the new norm, get used to it. There is an expectation you will see the best players when you attend a Tauihi game, and you will, but above all you will have fun.
High performance is an expectation because the best are out there putting on the show, but the focus is on entertainment.
Global broadcasts of Tauihi games now include ESPN in the United States, attendances at games are rapidly rising, star players are coming from around the world to play, star Kiwis are coming home to play, and then there’s the escalation in player payments which now sit higher than for those in the men’s league. Remarkable.
Women’s basketball competitions in New Zealand date back many years, though for the most part it has been largely unstructured and amateur, barely the appropriate formula to support the game’s incredible participation growth, nor the Tall Ferns in their international quest to rise in the FIBA rankings (currently world number 26).
Something had to change. And it has.
Five brand new privately-owned franchises heralded a new beginning for women’s basketball when Tauihi tipped off on 29 June 2022, signaling a move away from basketball associations running teams where players weren’t paid, and annual competitions were often cobbled together on the smell of an oily rag.
The die-hards were in the stands, but there was little, if any, engagement and inclusion beyond them.
With Tauihi, today we see strong links to Aotearoa with bold new team names, vibrant colours, every game broadcast live on Sky Sport, and Basketball New Zealand throwing extra resources behind its new women's league.
For women’s basketball, everything has changed with Tauihi. Young stars are starting to shine, aided further by Rapid League, which is also delivering positive outcomes in the Sal’s NBL men’s competition. Rapid League is the golden example of innovation.
Young girls across New Zealand are watching and attending Tauihi games, lifting their own aspirations to play, develop and be a pro player one day. The window to women’s basketball is finally big, wide and comes with a clear view.
And all of this is happening at a time when women’s basketball is skyrocketing in popularity around the world, thanks in a large part to the headlines being created by American sensation Caitlin Clark in the WNBA. In so many ways, the impactful similarities being drawn between what Michael Jordan did for men’s basketball and what Clark is doing for women’s basketball cannot be overstated.
And let’s touch on the visiting players to Tauihi just one more time. The international talent in Tauihi is arguably, pound-for-pound, better than any other domestic competition in New Zealand. As many as nine WNBA connected players played in Tauihi ’23, and again the WNBA talent is coming for 2024 – headlined by Seattle Storm star, Jordan Horsten.
To put this into context, if we were talking about that many NBA players coming to play in the Sal’s NBL or for the NZ Breakers, the mainstream media in New Zealand would be falling over each other for interviews and introductions. Some journalists and media outlets are already on board, others aren’t quite there yet. It will take time to see beyond 'what we've always known'.
If you are yet to see a live Tauihi game, do yourself a favour this season and get to a game. Better yet, make sure you bring the kids because after every game the fans are allowed on the court to meet the players. It's another move to increase fun, and the kids love it.
The size, speed and athleticism of the players will blow you away. They are elite. Some are seasoned professionals, some are rising through the ranks, and many of them have travelled the globe playing for different teams in different countries.
In just 67 games, or 134 hours of action to break it down even further, the Tauihi has lived up to its te reo Māori meaning. It has truly SOARED.
And... it's back!!
Tauihi '24 tips off on Friday October 4 when the Tokomanawa Queens host the Southern Hoiho.
Round 1
Friday October 4 – Queens vs Hoiho – Te Rauparaha Arena – Rapid 6:30pm / Tauihi 7:30pm - tickets HERE.
Saturday October 5 – Whai vs vs Pouākai – QEYC – Rapid 6:30pm / Tauihi 7:30pm - tickets HERE.
Sunday Oct 6 – Kāhu vs Hoiho – Eventfinda Stadium – Rapid 2:00pm / Tauihi 3:00pm - tickets HERE.
