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Mainland Tactix netballers reflect on decision to play just two days after Christchurch mosque atrocity

March 13, 2020

The young women were faced with a huge decision after their city was rocked to its core.

The saying goes, the show must go on, but sometimes it feels like it can’t.

On March 15 2019, 51 lives were lost.

Just two days later, the Mainland Tactix netball team were faced with a decision: step out on court, or forfeit the game.

Coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek says it was a hard conversation to have, but in the end, was an easy decision to make.

“We had a meeting with the girls in the afternoon and we decided that as a group of women, as a group of people, of different cultures and religions, that the most powerful thing we could do is play.”

And the game went on, but for defender Sophia Fenwick, it was without her colleague and dear friend Syed Areeb Ahmed, who she worked with at PwC.

One year on, Fenwick reflects on the decision to take the court.

“We chatted about it as a team, and I really felt like I wanted to do that for my friend. We decided that was the right thing to do, and we sorta didn't wanna let him (the alleged gunman) win,” Fenwick said.

Now this Sunday, the Tactix will take the court for their opening match of the domestic netball competition, exactly one year to the day of the shootings.

“Even when people mention it, a really powerful kind of feeling kind of comes. It's hard to control your emotions, so I'm sure it'll be just as hard as it was a year ago,”  Delaney- Hoshek says.

And they’ll want to win, for all of those who have lost so much.

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