Uniting Faith and Sport
Discipleship Tournaments
Join us for an unforgettable journey of faith and athleticism at our annual youth sports tournaments, where discipleship meets the playing field.
Be part of the Sporting Legacy of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
The 5 annual Sports Tournaments run by the North New Zealand Conference have a long and rich legacy of discipleship. They provide a forum for young people to show excellence, have fun, make connections, and shine for God’s Glory. We love seeing the churches use this time by mentoring and encouraging their young people to be better connected to God and grow as disciples of Jesus. This happens during training, transport, games, fellowship, meals, team worships, and the extreme pressure that comes with playing sport. We also aim to provide opportunities for Adventist young people to grow healthy Christian relationships with each other and to celebrate being a valuable part of our church.
The Conference will continue to organise the safest, fairest and best planned Tournaments to ensure these objectives are met.
Our dream is that every young person becomes a disciple of Jesus who connects, grows and multiples.
Our hope for each team is that they use their time together to connect with other young people, have fun, and learn how to glorify Christ in every area of their lives.
Upcoming Tournaments
Soccer
1 December 2024
Drury Sports Complex
Championship Grade – $290 per team.
Social Grade – $250 per team.
Registrations close 18 November 2024.
Touch
2 March 2025
Rotorua
Championship Grade – $300 per team.
Social Grade – $250 per team.
Registrations close 17 February 2025.
Basketball
31 May – 2 June 2025
Pulman Arena, Auckland
Championship Grade – $550 per team.
Social Grade – $500 per team.
Registrations close 12 May 2025.
Badminton
23-24 August 2025
Hamilton
Championship Grade – $40 per person.
Social Grade – $30 per person.
12+ years age limit
Registrations close 11 August 2025
Volleyball
25-26 October 2025
Palmerston North
Championship Grade – $300 per team.
Social Grade – $290 per team.
16+ years age limit
Registrations close 13 October 2025
Soccer
30 November 2025
Auckland
Championship Grade – $290 per team.
Social Grade – $250 per team.
16+ years age limit
Registrations close 17 November 2025
Meet Our Dedicated Team
Organizing Committee
Keli Pepa
Youth / Young Adults Director
Kelsey Ryan
Associate Youth Director - Pathfinders & Adventurers and Children's Ministries
Valmarie Young
Administration Assistant for Healthy Adventist Churches / Membership Management
Upcoming Youth Rally
Influencer – Youth Rally
30 November 2024
Venue: Papatoetoe Seventh-day Adventist Community Church
Guest Speaker: Pr Mosa Mafile’o
The term “influencer” is often associated with social media. But what makes you stand out as someone influenced by Jesus? As an influencer for Christ, your words and actions have the power to inspire and uplift others. By sharing His love, you can create a ripple effect that encourages others to embrace their faith and walk in His light.
“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14-16
Rotorua
1 March 2025
More information coming soon.
Auckland
31 May 2025
More information coming soon.
Hamilton
23 August 2025
More information coming soon.
Palmerston North
25 October 2025
More information coming soon.
Auckland
29 November 2025
More information coming soon.
Devotionals
The goal of our tournaments is to cultivate disciples of Jesus. We encourage you to make the most of your time with the youth during training, meals, and travel. If you don’t have a suitable devotional for team worship, links to resources are provided below. However, the most impactful moments come when you model what a life in Christ looks like. Seize every opportunity to do this!
Wednesday Word
Experience the inspiration of Wednesday Word, a captivating weekly devotional crafted by Pastor Keli, tailored for youth and young adults seeking spiritual growth and connection.
GC Youth Ministries
The General Conference Youth Ministries have a selection of devotional PDFs that you can download.
Morning Watch
Morning Watch devotions are intended for youth and young adults. They include a daily theme, a Bible chapter reading, reflective thoughts, a space to write your own thoughts, and a suggested prayer.
Download Images & Information
Tournament Information
Team Grades
There are 2 grades for our Seventh-day Adventist Discipleship Tournaments:
Championship Grade: For the teams who wish to play For His Glory through excellence and competition.
- Women
- Men
- Mixed
Social Grade: For the teams who wish to play For His Glory through fun and fellowship.
- Women
- Men
- Mixed
Please note: The above options will be based on the number of teams that register in that division, we may need to consolidate or alter grades based on viable numbers. Your team will be consulted if this is necessary.
16+ Age Limit
A player must be 16 years or older at the time of the event. All the North New Zealand Conference Seventh-day Adventist Youth Sports Tournaments have an age limit of 16+ for players. This has been set to ensure the safety, fairness and duty of care requirements for young people playing at this level of competition. This age limit policy also means that we meet our Church’s Safe Place Policies (the tournaments are not currently set up to meet the requirements for under 16s) and the wishes of our churches (who indicated that they do not want to play against under 16s in our Youth Tournaments). Thank you for taking note of this age limit and protecting the standard of our tournaments. If a team does use a player who is under 16, they forfeit that game, the under-age player will be asked to leave the court, and the breech will be reported back to your Church Pastor and/or Youth Leader, which may result in suspensions of future tournaments.
Players
- A player must be registered with only ONE team throughout the whole tournament. Playing an unregistered player (or a registered player from another team from any other grade) will result in the disqualification of that player from the game and the default of that game by the offending team.
- Each team is to be made up of regular attendees of a Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) (for at least 3 out of 4 weeks every month over the last 5 months) and/or SDA members on the church roll. A church pastor must sign off your application to ensure your team is made up of regular attenders who are actively involved in such programmes as Pathfinders, worship services, small groups, AYs, Sabbath School, community service, Bible Studies, cell groups, or Youth Week of Prayer, etc.
- Each team is allowed to include 2 non-regular attendees (non-SDA guest players). This concession is not designed to help you stack your team to win but to ensure you can use this sporting event as an opportunity to reach out to non-Adventist friends. (NOTE: You are not allowed to include current representative players or ex-representative players from the last 12 months as your non-SDA guest players).
- Each team must be affiliated with the local Church Youth Group and the local Church Pastor will be asked to check and endorse their team(s).
- All players must be 16 years or older. All of the SDA Sports Tournaments have an age limit of 16+ for players. If a team is found to have used an under-16 player, they will forfeit that game, or if the game is still in progress, the under-age player will be asked to leave the court and points/sets gained by the offending team up to that point in the game will be forfeited.
- The tournament committee reserves the right to check the names submitted for each team and to remove names/teams from the final draw if necessary.
- For the purpose of accountability and transparency, a list of every team and their registered players will be sent out to the teams before the tournament. This will aid any teams who question whether another team has played an unregistered player or a player from another grade.
Uniforms
Because each player has chosen to represent their Church, family, and God to the best of their ability, we believe that this is reflected in both the spirit in which they play and the uniform they wear (attitude and action).
- Teams must wear a uniform shirt and shorts.
- Numbers must be clearly visible on the front and back of all tops. No chalk, tape or permanent marker may be used to number or convert numbers on a player’s shirt.
- Adequate footwear must be worn. No jandals, slip-ons or bare feet allowed.
- No track pants or jeans.
Team Management
Each team must have a captain and/or coach with them for every game. This person is to be aware of any medical problems of players in the team, organise first aid requirements for their team, implement the rules of the competition (and ensure all players know and understand the Rule & Regulations), and supervise their players.
Teams are responsible for their team’s personal effects. Tournament staff will not be held responsible for any loss or damage to personal effects. We encourage teams to ensure security measures for these items.
Conduct
Any player, coach, or spectator who fails to abide by the tournament rules and venue regulations will be asked to leave, and the team may forfeit their game and/or their place in the competition.
A player or spectator will be automatically suspended from the tournament or disciplined if they:
- Use offensive or inciting language
- Insult or manhandle a referee, tournament official or tournament helper
- Are sent off the court/field by a referee for any reason
- Damage the venue
- Are found to be drunk or have drugs
- Act in an unsportsmanlike or violent manner with any persons while in the venue confines (including the carpark)
- Is asked to leave the venue by a tournament or venue official
If the incident involves fighting, the individuals involved will be asked to leave and face the possibility of a tournament ban for a year. Team involvement in a fight will default the game and incur suspension from the rest of the tournament.
Disputes/Queries
Referees’ interpretation of the rules and decisions are final.
In the case of a dispute or query during a game, both team captains must report to the game referee who will arbitrate.
Any protests from a game must be in writing and handed in by the Team Captain to the Tournament Organiser (Keli Pepa) before the end of the following round. The written complaint must include:
- The names of the 2 teams involved
- The game the dispute occurred in
- The nature of the dispute (e.g. the opposing team has played under-16s or unregistered players, or there was an error in the recorded score from a game, etc).
The Tournament Organiser will immediately follow up this complaint and let all parties involved know the decision.
PLEASE NOTE: Disputes will not be entered into after the conclusion of the next official round. Complaints will only be accepted about another team that your team has just played.
If a complaint is upheld, all points from that game will be forfeited by the team who has breached Tournament policy OR an appropriate resolution will be shared as determined by the Tournament Organiser
Communication
The Sports Tournament Committee reserves the right to only dialogue with the nominated Team Captain and/or Church Youth Leader. The Sports Tournament Committee reserves the right to speak with the Youth Leader and/or Church Pastor post tournament, if a matter is deemed necessary for follow up.
First Aid
All teams are responsible for the first aid requirements of their players. Adequate first aid coverage includes a first aid kit, band aids, strapping and ice packs, and a designated person who can drive any lightly injured player to the local Emergency Room. Any major emergencies should be directed to an ambulance by calling 111.
PLEASE NOTE – in addition to your first aid responsibilities, a trained First Aid person will also be on hand in an advisory capacity to help you assess any injuries. They will NOT provide strapping for players.
The following are some first aid items to be mindful of:
- Blood – should an injury occur which results in bleeding, that individual will leave the court immediately, or as instructed by a referee, and must not return to play until the flow has been stopped and/or covered with a dressing.
- Jewellery – watches, earrings, chains, necklaces, bracelets (excluding medic-alert bracelets), anklets – are worn at your own risk. If they risk injuring others then we reserve the right to have you either remove or cover them, failure to do so will result in the player being excluded from participation in the competition game.
- Headwear – caps, hats, sunglasses – must be removed prior to commencement of a game.
Photo & Video Disclaimer
Any photograph/video taken at the event may be used on social media and/or in future advertising by the North New Zealand Conference.
To ensure the privacy of individuals, images will not be identified using full names or personal identifying information without written approval from the photographed subject, parent or legal guardian.
A person attending a North New Zealand Conference event who does not wish to have their image recorded for distribution should make their wishes known to the photographer, the Event Coordinator, Keli Pepa, or by email to the NNZC Youth Department Conference Office, stating his/her intentions and include a photograph. The North New Zealand Conference will use the photo for identification purposes and will hold it in confidence.