Timaru has established a firm foothold as a hub for a niche sport, sending a squad of young players to represent New Zealand at the world championships in Switzerland.

The New Zealand Under 18 fistball squad will head to the IFA U18 Fistball World Championships in Reiden, Switzerland, in July.

Coach Samuel Kempf said the team was made up solely of players from Timaru and they were looking forward to the international competition.

In New Zealand, the U18 team had faced the NZ women’s team, NZ masters team and other teams.

In Switzerland, the junior team would play against countries including Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Chile, India, and Namibia.

“We are looking forward to just getting on the field and representing New Zealand,” he said.

He said the squad would head to Geelong, Australia, for a competition over Anzac Day weekend to gain more game experience.

“We are keen to keep training and playing before the champs,” Kempf said.

“We do not get a lot of chances to compete with other teams and this will be some real game experiences for the under-18 team,” he said.

Although the sport was also played in Christchurch, Kempf said fistball was more active in Timaru.

Kempf said Timaru had become the hub for the sport in New Zealand, and he believed that had been helped after he and his dad convinced Timaru Boys’ High School to include the sport in its physical education programme.

Kempf, who is also the captain for the NZ men’s team, said fistball was a mix between volleyball and tennis.

The sport was usually played on a grass field of about 50×20 metres, and the ball is allowed to bounce between each hit.

Kempf was introduced to fistball in 2018 when he was invited to play in Christchurch.

Kempf said the sport was easier to play than volleyball.

“People who try it out for the first time enjoy it a lot and keep playing,” he said.

A year later, the Aoraki Fistball Association was created. At that time, it consisted of one team from Timaru made up of Kempf, his brother, his father, and a friend.

Since then, the number of people playing the sport had grown in South Canterbury, and nationally, he said.

He said the fistball social league in Timaru had nine teams in 2025, and has 12 teams this season.

The team’s delegate Wayne Dyche said they had secured a shirt sponsorship deal from Timaru-based Wholly IT Solutions and Phimister Engineering, another Timaru-based company, had committed to sponsoring the team.

Dyche said they were still looking for sponsors to support the team ahead of the championships.