Sports in brief
Hayden Jones became the fourth youngest Tall Black in history at 17-years-old when he took to the court against Hong Kong in the FIBA 2025 Asia Cup Qualifiers over the weekend. He finished the game with seven points, two rebounds and a block to his name from over 13 minutes of court time in the 88-49 win. Photo: fiba.basketball.
Cycling: Finn Fisher-Black was unlucky to secure a maiden tour win after leading the field going into the final stage of the Tour of Oman. Having won the tour's second stage, Finn had a three second lead into the final 104km leg but finished 39 seconds off the pace to settle for third while also picking up the Youth and Point classification jerseys. The result came just two weeks after Finn finished Saudi Arabia's 2024 AlUla Tour in third.
Volleyball: Waimea College senior volleyballers have won the school’s 10th South Island Boy’s title in the last 24 years, beating Burnside High School 3-0 in the Mainland Championships final. Full local results can be found on Volleyball Tasman's social media.
Basketball: The NBS Nelson Giants roster has some returning campaigners and fresh faces as a trio of signings were announced this week. Ernie Kerr is returning for another season with the team, joined by Kaleb Chamberlain from Christchurch and Aston Inwood, who played for the Saints last season.
MTB: Nelson's trail closures have been lifted, with Sharlands and Codgers back open. The trails were closed by Tasman Pine Forestry LTD after fire risk was assessed to be too high for public access.
Skatepark series: Last weekend saw the 2024 Skatepark Series make its second stop, at Wakefield’s McGazzaland, as aspiring skateboarders, bikers, scooter riders and even a rollerblader put their skills on show. With timed laps of the park’s pump track and a best trick competition on the dirt jumps, the day saw a bunch of high flying action as well as some thrills and spills as contestants pushed their limits.