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Three Mahurangi College students will represent New Zealand at an Underwater Hockey Age Group World Championship in Turkey in July.
Clementine Hart (Year 11), Thea Buick (Year 13) and Finlay Jozefek (Year 12) will compete against rivals from around the world in the men’s and women’s Under 19 and Under 24 grades in the week-long tournament.
NZ Underwater Hockey executive member Andrew Harris said it was a credit to the Mahurangi club to have three players in the national squad.
“The club has helped raise the level of competition while developing strong players and emerging leaders who contribute to the sport’s growth,” he said.
Clementine started playing underwater hockey in Year 6 while watching her father practise and coach.
“I fell in love with the speed and intensity of the sport, but also because it requires a huge amount of teamwork,” she says. “I was absolutely thrilled to make the national team. It felt like all the hours of training had paid off.”
For 16-year-old Finlay, the call-up was also a great surprise, as he has only been playing for three years. He is one of the youngest players selected for the men’s Under 19 team.
“I am focused on training – lots of swimming and lots of hockey. We are lucky to have some senior players in our region who help with school hockey. They provide plenty of support,” he says.
Thea is the most experienced of the three team members. She played for the NZ Under 19 women’s team at the world tournament in Malaysia in 2024.
“It was unreal hearing my name being called for the Worlds team after almost two years of training and competition.
We ended up winning a bronze medal,” she says.
Participating in the tournament is not cheap, with a budget of around $12,000 to $14,000 for each player.
The national association provides the coaching structure and organisation, but players must cover almost the entire cost of the trip themselves, including flights, gear and tournament fees.
Finlay’s family is offering a 15 per cent discount on all sales through their online business by using the code “turkey2026”, with 15 per cent of the sale price going towards fundraising for all three players.
Website: www.tikitibu.com.
You can support Clementine’s trip here: https://tinyurl.com/y9m3ment
