MARCHING TEAMS

Women's marching had its genesis as an organised sport during the depression years of the 1930s. At that time many New Zealand business houses, which were arranging recreation for their staff, organised teams to compete in athletics and ball games. As such competitions usually included a compulsory march past of teams, the sponsors soon had the idea of training special teams for this event. The new sport proved popular, especially among those who were unwilling to participate in the more strenuous events. From these beginnings the girls' marching movement expanded until many centres had their competition organisations and inter-city tournaments were instituted.

Formation of Association

As a consequence of this, the New Zealand Marching Association was formed in 1944 and uniform rules, covering the conduct of competitions, were adopted. New Zealand was divided into 20 “centres”, each of which controls competitions in its respective district and is represented upon the executive in Wellington. The New Zealand Marching Association now has 4,300 members. One team, Blair Atholl, of Dunedin, has visited the United Kingdom, and several teams have visited Australia and Fiji. The sport has now spread to Australia and a number of teams have been formed in the several States.

The New Zealand Marching Association publishes a Marching Handbook, an annual March Plan booklet, and a monthly magazine, Quick March.

Championships

As marching is a summer sport, the championships are usually contested in January and February culminating in the national contest in March. The various centres organise championship contests for their respective districts and these are followed by the North and South Island senior, junior, and midget championships. Later, the champion teams from the centres compete for the national trophies. At this contest the following trophies are awarded: Parry Cup (New Zealand champions); Bock Shield (display march); Hanan Shield (aggregate points trophy); Lustre Shield (best team leader); Stanton Medal (best team marker); and Richard Hudnut Trophy and Kiwi Rose Bowl (for winner and runner up in the costume competition). Following is the list of Parry Cup holders since 1948: