Hado at Shore Junction
In August 2023, we hosted the much-anticipated Aotearoa, New Zealand Hado tournament. This exciting event was organized by Shore Junction in collaboration with Hado NZ and the NZ eSports Federation. It took place on a thrilling day, August 5th, where we proudly showcased New Zealand’s top-notch Hado competition.
We welcomed participants of all skill levels to dive into the captivating world of Hado. Whether you were an experienced player or new to the game, our warm invitation was extended to everyone to experience this incredible augmented-reality sport.
During the tournament, talent scouts were on the lookout for skilled players to represent New Zealand as part of the Hado E-Black team at the 2023 Hado World Cup. In addition to the exciting talent search, participants had the opportunity to win prizes throughout the competition. This led to 6 players making the 2023 Hado national development squad and from here 4 players were selected to represent Aotearoa in the 2023 Hado World Cup.
Hado Opportunities
Hado is a new sport meaning it has countless opportunities for its players to try new things, to develop new skillsets and strategies, for players to meet new people and make new relationships, to become active or to maintain active recreation.
In October of 2023, Shore Junction was able to send over a team of 4 players, a Coach and a youth worker over to Tokyo, Japan to establish New Zealand’s world ranking in this incredible sport. They incredibly managed to place 8th, losing to the undefeated Hibana Japan team in the quarter-final stage. This was considered a massive feat in the eyes of New Zealand and the E Blacks were stoked with the outcome, to come in as a team that had only been playing for 4 months and beat teams that had played for 4+ years was massive for the team.
2023 Hado E Blacks
2023 Hado E Blacks Full Squad
Back row (left to right): Paul Gao (HadoNZ CEO), Lavay Arora (Co-Captain), Richard Peng (Captain), Jakob DeGuzman, Jonathan Jansen (NZEF CEO)
Middle Row (left to right): Isabell Lynch, Hannah Wilmot, Sophia Grant, Karah Mackie (youth worker)
Front: Connor Green (Coach)
