AOTEAROA INVITATIONAL

Sports Inc., in association with Total Property Worx and Passive Fire, created the Aotearoa Invitational in 2021. The tournament is billed as New Zealand’s Celebrity-Amateur Team Championship.

The inaugural tournament included a stellar line-up of New Zealand’s sporting celebrities each looking to captain their amateur team to golfing glory. All Black greats Christian Cullen and Olo Brown, New Zealand cricketers Neil Wagner, Marty Guptill, Nathan McCullum and Craig McMillan, women’s world long drive golf champ Phillis Meti, Warriors rugby league legend Awen Guttenbeil, two-time Olympic rowing gold medallist Eric Murray and Team New Zealand grinder Simon van Velthooven all signed up as celebrity skippers.

Proceeds from the event supported the critical work of ‘MATES in Construction’. MATES is a charity that delivers a free suicide prevention programme, developed to reduce the high suicide rates in the construction industry.

The 2021 champion was the Sky City team captained by BLACKCAP Tim Southee, with the event raising over $50,000 for our charity partner.

Sports Inc. looks forward to the Aotearoa Invitational being a regular feature on the New Zealand golf calendar in the years ahead.