Our History -

strive - believe - achieve

In 1987, club founder Peter Walters started a touch team with a view to achieving success through hard work, skills and sound plans. He named the team GALAXY.

Touch was a fairly new sport in the 1980s and was booming with huge numbers joining up to play all over New Zealand. There was a team at that time winning the comps in Auckland and the North Island called Asterix and Zylons. Pete ran with the intergalactic theme and named his team Galaxy.

Pete started playing touch in 1980 at the Marist Rugby Club in Auckland where he was playing in the Marist Under 21s rugby team. He played Touch through the 1980s for Dustys, JC Walker, 8 oclock, Reds, Tamaki and Galaxy touch teams. That first Galaxy mens team in 1987 were a couple of old school mates and some rugby and touch mates. The majority of the team were from East Auckland. Some young talent was identified and the building of Galaxy commenced. Trainings got more focused and intense. More members got on board and in house competition standards were raised. Everyone loved the new environment. They believed they could be good and go on to achieve great things. They strived to be better.

This was the beginning of Galaxy…..

They entered the toughest club comps around Auckland including the two strongest touch modules - their home base where they started Tamaki Touch module in Panmure, the place they call the “Mecca” and the Manurewa Touch module at Mountford Park, Manurewa. They entered all the best tournaments around NZ, one year winning $15000.00 in prizemoney with each Fosters tournaments paying $5000 winner take All.

They toured every year in preseason September/October. The plan being to get valuable team bonding time together, tough competition and a head start over their opponents. There was a cultural component where they learnt waiata, haka and some knowledge about the people and towns they would be visiting. New Zealand tours, North Island tours and South Island tours annually through the 1990s. Australian tours in 1996 and 2000.

The regular tours around New Zealand had a specific focus. 1 - to spread knowledge and understanding of active rule changes and game trends and 2 - take the sport to many of the smaller towns and regions that did not get the exposure of the bigger cities and areas where touch was more popular. They included coaching and development sessions as well and matches against the top performing club teams or composite teams. Many of the smaller towns and regions were visited. Places like Kaitaia, Awanui, Moerewa, Okaihau, Kaikohe, Whangarei, Kaiwaka, Wellsford, Putaruru, Tokoroa, Taupo, Whakatane, Gisborne, Taumaranui, New Plymouth, Hawera, Wanganui, Hastings, Napier, Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, Porirua, Nelson, Blenheim, Timaru, Queenstown, Dunedin and Invercargill.

They played and trained all year round. Summer and Winter comps. Four Triathlons and Duathlons 7.00am on Sunday mornings in winter around Panmure basin lagoon and up Maungarei (Mount Wellington) then off to play winter touch games at 10.00am. Members had access to the Lagoon gym where many attended aerobics classes during the week(then in some cases off to play touch straight after). The 1990s through to the early 2000s was a golden era for the Galaxy mens team winning numerous tournaments including the prestigious Whakatane tournament open mens grade seven times and the TouchNZ Nationals open mens grade ten times for Auckland where 90% of the team were members.

Communities could see the good things happening within the Galaxy environment and more people became interested and wanted to get involved so more teams were formed, a formal entity was created, structures put in place and the club flourished.

Into the new millenium saw Galaxy make further strides with the addition of affiliates joining from around the world and within New Zealand. Galaxy Capetown in South Africa under Labeeb Levy and Galaxy Wellington under Manu Cribb were the first to join Galaxy Auckland. These affiliate connections and relationships have been developed and enhanced by coaching visits, game resourcing, knowledge transfer and reciprocal tours.

Today Galaxy is an established International touch network which is a testament to the club and it’s people. It has a supportive and driven culture that allows individuals of any skill level and competency to grow. The club brings people together from all across the globe.

Pete still plays today and is passionately involved in coaching. He has coached in 32 countries. Known worldwide as ‘Mr Touch’ he coaches across the continuum from beginners thru to the high performers.

We are so proud of all our members and families worldwide that have been part of the club and contributed immensely to our history. Many have gone on to do well in Life, have families, healthy lifestyles, good work life balance and even represent in touch and other sports at the highest levels. Children, Parents and in some cases Grandparents all involved. We are forever grateful.

Galaxy is a family orientated club with very simple values and beliefs.

• Be humble.(kia whakaiti)

• Be healthy and well (kia whai oranga).

• Be respectful (kia whakaute).

• Be connected (kia whakawhanaunga).

• Have fun (kia ngahau)