$1.6m turf facility opens at College
Ceremony officially opened covered multi-sport playing area
A ceremony was held last Thursday morning to open and bless the new $1.6 million Te Awamutu College covered multi-sports turf. Constructed by New Zealandbased companies Shade Systems NZ and Teamturf, the 51.2m x 36.9m turf will be used as a practice turf for hockey, netball, football and many other sports, a space for practical physical education classes, and a venue for the likes of assemblies.
The turf is a welcome addition to Te Awamutu College’s various other sport and recreation facilities and resources, including a double-gym complex with a basketball court, training room, swimming pool, playing fields and tennis courts.
“It started with some sketches, some poles and some sort of canopy. We’re very impressed,” Te Awamutu College principal Tony Membery said. “Thanks to all the contractors and everyone involved. The dreaming, the planning, the nagging, the chasing up, the solutions — but what a cool asset for a state co-ed school to have.”
Shade Systems NZ general manager Nick Suckling thanked the school for choosing to work with his company.
“It was a privilege for us. We probably didn’t get everything right, but to come here and see this fully open and finished is pretty impressive.”
After several years of planning, construction began in May following a delay due to excess groundwater.
Jock Ellis, David Peehikuru and deputy principal Wayne Carter, a subcommittee of the Te Awamutu College Board, put in countless hours “driving” the project.
“It’s like a giant Meccano set, it comes prefabricated and it’s all pieced together on site,” Carter told the Te Awamutu Courier in May.
The school launched a fundraising appeal in September 2022, through the establishment of the Te Awamutu College Foundation Fund with Momentum Waikato (supported through the generosity
of the Rogers Charitable Trust) enabling a mechanism for residents to donate easily to the school.
“I’m delighted to have it fully funded by the board through the use of our reserves,” Membery said.
“I’d like to acknowledge that some members of the public, past students, current staff and previous staff have given some donations through Momentum to support the project.”
Membery also acknowledged the generosity of RCT, which provided $150,000 in funding towards the turf, and thanked Alexandra Images for its signwriting.
Te Awamutu College director of sport Chris Wynne has received an influx of community interest without advertising turf hire yet.
Although the school would like to help out the community, its main priorities are the students and their sports teams.
“Mr Wynne, our director of sport, will take bookings first and foremost from our sports clubs and then we’ll see what spaces are left,” Membery said.
He said the idea of a turf was brought up 20 years ago, but at the time “it seemed like a dream, a fantasy land” due to the cost.
“I do want to give credit. The current and previous boards, the desire to have a turf has become stronger and has become real,” he said.
“A lot of our staff still haven’t set foot on it. I think they’ll come down and be surprised. You can see it from a distance, but when you get underneath it, you see the scope and size and go ‘wow, this is flash’. I’m really pleased. It’s been a lot of dreaming and planning — it’s been a bit of a saga.”