Local side Muri Beach Club Mermaids won the open women’s grade at the 2019 Netball in Paradise tournament.

The annual event which concluded yesterday at Arorangi courts saw intense competition in five divisions.

In the premier open women’s competition, the Muri Beach Club Mermaids finished on top after overcoming Waka, the Western Australia Kuki Airani team, 25-23 in a close and exciting final.

Team Maketu from the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand finished on third spot.

Muri Beach Club Mermaids player Luciana Nicholas said the team really wanted to win the tournament.

“It was a nice feeling to have that final win. We knew we were going to meet Team Waka in the finals and we had a pretty tough game,” said Nicholas, the former national skipper.

She said the team overcame a jittery start after missing some goals but thanks to a strong defence, they managed to survive the battle from the visiting team.

The Mermaids also had services of other national reps including sharp shooter Alanna Smith and tough defender Natalia Short.

In the social ladies’ division, the first place went to Team Hanana from New Zealand, in second came local team Raro Pearls U21 and in third was Pretty Uglied, a team from the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

In the mixed competition, Team North Harbour came in first with Waka finishing second and Maketu in third place.

In the 17 and under division, Piopio College finished on top followed by Raro U17 Pearls. The third place went to Pakuranga College.

Rarotonga-based Pearls team won the 15 and under grade followed by Tereora College and Tupapa, who finished second and third places, respectively.

The 2019 Netball in Paradise tournament had a record 32 teams competing in five divisions.