Waikanae Masters Q&A
Please see below for information on our new Masters team.
When are the games played?
Saturday 2:30pm kick-off generally.
Where do we play?
Every second week will be played away from home, with the rest in Waikanae. Away games generally played around the Wellington/Hutt region. Nothing north of Waikanae. No Wairarapa teams.
Are refs provided?
No, only for Masters 1 (Over 35s). For comparison, there are also no refs provided for either Over 45s divisions. Expect to self-ref. Typically the home team will do the first half, away the second. Would be worth establishing a go-to ref. It appears a few expected players have reffing backgrounds.
What are the conditions of the fields and facilities?
Variable. Can sometimes end up on turfs, can otherwise be poor quality grass fields. No clear priority system across divisions. Generally similar facilities to other Capital leagues.
Which division will we play in? How competitive is it?
Likely to be Division 6 in Over 35s as all new teams start from the lowest division. Div 6 is quite casual (comparatively Div 1 is very competitive with ex-professionals).
Compared to Div 2 in the Over 45s, Div 6 is similar, perhaps slightly more competitive. Would be aligned to a hypothetical HK Div 3. It would be incorrect to assume that Over 45s is less competitive simply due to the higher age.
Post-match socialising
Similarly with the HK divisions, teams are generally invited back for a beer after the games. Kick-off times are the same as HK and the same post-match catering will be provided for home games as with all other teams.
What is the format of the league?
Like the HK leagues, just one full league format is played across the season. No re-grading occurs.
Do I need to play every week? Are casual subs available?
As with HK teams, there is no expectation to play every game, this comes down to individual team culture. However, no casual subs will be available.
Team Management
We’re confident the transition into a Capital Masters league will be smooth as the team will be run by committee members who have extensive experience managing teams and can liaise directly with Capital Football and the wider committee. For instance they have already begun arranging preseason friendlies with other Masters teams in the region.
Will we train, and if so, when and where?
Yes, ‘training’ will run on Tuesday evenings at this stage, starting on 20 February, likely to be at Kapakapanui School.
Will we have pre-season games?
Yes, some friendlies are being teed up with other teams that also play in the Masters divisions. Likely to have friendlies on 2, 9 and 16 March.
Will we play at the Erin Walter Memorial on 24 March?
Yes, the team is currently entered to play.
What kit do we wear?
The same as the rest of Waikanae. An existing kit will be used.