Trust Horizon funding enables long-awaited lighting upgrade for Tihirau Victory Club

For more than 10 years, Mo Matao, president of Tihirau Victory Club, has been trying to find a way to fund the installation of lighting at the local sports field.

Through community collaboration, a positive result has finally been achieved, with $127,372 in funding approved by Trust Horizon in December 2022.

Tihirau Victory Club lies next to their local school, Te Kura Mana Māori o Whangaparāoa, at Cape Runaway, east of Ōpōtiki. The kura’s sports field is used by the Club as its home ground for sports events, trainings and hosting the Ngati Porou East Coast games.

With nine junior sides and senior men’s and women’s teams, rugby has a significant presence in the community.

“Rugby is one of the only sports that is played in our community, and it brings people together,” says Tihirau Victory Club president, Moana (Mo) Mato. “We're not a big community - I think about 400 or 500 people max, but the community comes together on the day to support everyone and have a good time.”

The club has been making do with limited lighting facilities for a number of years. Second-hand lights gifted from a club in Gisborne have been hung in trees alongside the field and car headlights are sometimes used to light up the field.

Trust Horizon’s grant marks a significant milestone for the club, who have encountered barriers to applying for funding. “We’re structured a bit differently as a club,” says Mato, “because we don’t own the land the sports field is on – it is on school land – and this posed a barrier to applying for funding. But Trust Horizon were great in helping us through this process.”

The club required support from the kura’s Board of Trustees to apply to Trust Horizon for funding for the purchase and installation of lighting for the field. This collaboration was successful, with the installation due to be completed before day light savings in April.

“We’re excited to see the difference having a full field set up will make,” says Mato. “The club is very grateful to have the opportunity to apply for funding and be supported by Trust Horizon. The upgrade will have a great positive impact in our community.”

The lighting facilities will see the club being able to train year-round and provide opportunities for both the kura and club to host evening events, helping to build a stronger and better-connected community.

“Both Tihirau Victory Club and the kura are at the heart of the community at Cape Runaway,” says Trust Horizon Trustee Kevin Hennessy. “The Trust is committed to improving amenities that support the wellbeing of the Eastern Bay of Plenty, so we’re pleased to have been able to help achieve a great result for the club and wider community.”

Learn more about how Trust Horizon brings positive change to our communities here.