The Trans-Tasman Championships between Australia and New Zealand are a long-standing highlight of the Oceanian fistball calendar. This year featured a special occasion: for the first time since 2018, the Women’s and Men’s Masters Championships were once again held as part of the same tournament.

In addition, an exciting series took place between the New Zealand U18 national team and an Australian development side (known as “Australia A”). For the young New Zealanders, this marked their first official international appearances and served as an important benchmark ahead of the U18 World Championship in Switzerland. The Australian team featured an intriguing mix of promising young talent and experienced veterans.

Across two days of competition, fistball was played in near-perfect conditions – sunny skies and virtually no wind. Congratulations go to the New Zealand Fistball Association, which once again claimed the coveted Pavlova Plate thanks to convincing victories in the elite Men’s and Women’s divisions.

Despite the ultimately clear overall result, the tournament was anything but one-sided. All four series were played at an impressive level, with every rally fiercely contested until the very end.

Two historic milestones stood out in particular:

• Success for Australia’s Women: Australia’s women recorded their very first victory over New Zealand in a dramatic seven-set thriller.
• U18 Breakthrough: New Zealand’s U18 team celebrated the first win in its history in the second match against Australia A. The juniors showed tremendous character by overturning a 4:8 deficit in the deciding set. The result should provide the team with plenty of confidence ahead of the U18 World Championship in Switzerland this coming July.

Only in the Men’s Masters division did New Zealand have to concede, with the trophy going to Australia.