Hundreds of girls give it their all at sports event

Sacred Heart school pupil Becky Chao, 10, slices the ball over the covers as her classmate Samantha Mason, 10, keeps wicket during a Fern Fever sports day at Logan Park yesterday. Photos: Peter McIntosh

About 400 Otago pupils attended an all-girls sports day in Dunedin yesterday aimed at boosting female participation.

Southern Football, Otago Cricket Association, Otago Hockey Association and Otago Rugby Football Union teamed up to host Fern Fever, a multisport event for year 5 to 8 girls at Logan Park.

Pupils from 16 Dunedin schools and one Alexandra school had a go at the different sports.

Abbotsford School and Alexandra School pupils cheer on their teams in a hockey game.

Southern Football girls and women's development officer Grace Teah said the cross-code event was set up for young girls to try different sports in an all-female environment.

"For us providing that platform for them in an all-female environment means [girls are] more likely to want to develop their skills going into the future."

The field was divided into sections that focused on different skill levels so older pupils could attempt harder drills.

Tahuna Intermediate pupils Ava Boulger, 11, collects balls.

Miss Teah said the event was built on the back of the rugby, cricket and football women’s world cups, which had been hosted by New Zealand in 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively.

It was called Fern Fever because the women’s national teams for rugby, cricket and football had "Fern" in their names.

mark.john@odt.co.nz