Canterbury Water Polo is raffling a new Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid worth $32,990 plus on-road costs, alongside a range of other prizes. One winner will take home the entire package, with ticket sales closing at 10pm on Friday, October 9.

Canterbury Water Polo board member and fundraising lead Brittany Tucker said the fundraiser was launched as the club looked for new ways to support players and programmes while grant funding became increasingly difficult to secure.

“Like many community sporting organisations, we’re facing increasing costs, and the reality is that traditional funding sources are becoming harder to access,” Tucker said.

“We can’t continue to rely solely on grants, so we’ve had to think differently about how we generate income to support our players and families.”

One of the biggest pressures is pool hire, with the club’s annual costs increasing by more than 46 per cent since 2023.

Projected pool hire costs for 2026 are now more than $182,000.

“For the past few years, we’ve been absorbing much of those increases through our reserves to avoid passing the full cost on to families, but that’s simply not sustainable long term,” Tucker said.

“We’re incredibly fortunate to have a world-class facility like Parakiore here in Christchurch, but we want to make sure the cost of accessing facilities doesn’t become a barrier for young people wanting to play.”

The club had set an ambitious target of selling 3500 tickets and is hoping the Canterbury community will help with one final push.

“We haven’t reached the numbers we’d hoped for, but we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us so far,” Tucker said.

“For $50, someone is going to walk away with an incredible prize package worth over $35,000, including a brand-new car. But the real win for us is what this fundraiser could mean for our young athletes and families across Canterbury.”

Money raised will support junior and youth player development, subsidies for national and international competitions, coaching and referee development, pool hire, equipment, uniforms and representative team travel.

Tucker said keeping the sport affordable was central to the fundraiser.

“We have some incredibly talented young athletes coming through our club, and we want to give them every opportunity to succeed,” she said.

“Just as importantly, we want water polo to remain a sport that families across Canterbury can afford to be part of.”

The idea for the raffle began at an under-14 national tournament last year, when a conversation about raising more money for the club led to the suggestion of raffling a car.

That eventually led to Blackwells, where the club discovered an unexpected water polo connection.

Blackwells chief executive Steve Grenfell previously played water polo for Canterbury and agreed to back the fundraiser.

“Steve and the team at Blackwells have been incredible supporters of this initiative,” Tucker said.

“What started as a conversation about how we could do something different has turned into a fantastic partnership.”

Tickets can be purchased here until 10pm today.

The raffle will be drawn at the Blackwells City Showroom at 10.30am on Friday, October 16.