A pop-up volleyball session at a Rautawhiri Park on Friday 20th March has shown just how much local young people thrive when given the space and tools to connect.
Organised by Helensville & South Kaipara Community Facilitator, Arwen Flowers, the four-hour session drew a group of 12–14 teenagers who set up the nets themselves, played non-stop, and packed everything down at the end of the day — all without being asked twice.
The energy was infectious from the start. Girls and guys played together, rotating sides and keeping things friendly rather than competitive. When friends arrived at the park, they were waved over and invited to join. A birthday group turned up, a boom box provided a soundtrack at a reasonable volume, and passersby stopped to watch — dog walkers, parents with small children, even a local school teacher out for an evening stroll.
Most parents dropped their rangatahi off and left, and the teens seemed to prefer it that way — happy to be in a group together, supervised but independent. Those parents who did check in were really positive about it, seeing the session as a great way for their teens to spend time with friends around something they love.
By the time the sun set, nobody wanted to leave. “I want to do this every Friday!” said one participant.
Auckland Council Parks staff have since flagged that they’re looking into installing a permanent volleyball net structure at the park — a promising sign for the future of the space.
The Rodney Community Team is already thinking about how to make sessions like this a regular fixture. If you’re interested in getting involved, get in touch at arwen@rodneycommunity.org.nz
Rodney Community is a free service managed by the Rodney Community Team to promote community events, activities and initiatives across the Rodney Local Board area. Our goal is to connect with community on the ground and support them with resourcing, venues and expertise. Event organisers are responsible for ensuring the terms of use are met.
