Three generations. One Tournament.

For Raylene and Fred Bishop, the National Tournament is a week spent watching their whaanau spread across courts, grades and roles.

Raylene, of Ngaati Toa Rangatira and Ngaati Koata, and Fred, of Ngaati Maniapoto, are the parents of Jodi, Lisa, Stevie, Randall and Evan Bishop - a whaanau whose presence at the tournament now stretches across three generations.

Each of their children is involved in their own way.

Randall coaches his daughters Gia, Brookie and Frankie through their respective grades, and is a player himself. His brother Evan is still on court himself, while his children Ngarauhina, Te Aniwa, Huirangi, Nikki-Ray and Rewi also play across their own grades. Stevie is another familiar Bishop name at the tournament and competes in the Whaikaha grade, while sister Lisa plays when she is able to. Lisa was also a standout hockey player in her younger years, continuing a strong sporting thread through the family.

Then there is Jodi, who is rarely far from the action despite not usually playing herself. She can usually be found helping on scorebench or wherever she is needed, while her children are heavily involved on court. Her sons Randall, Evan and Jonah Paenga get the unique experience of playing alongside their uncles Randall and Evan, while her daughters are either taking the court together or balancing playing and coaching within the Ngaati Toa wahine team. Jodi’s mokopuna Jessie, Ayla and Kaia are growing up around the same tournament environment.

The repeated names add another layer to the family story.

Hippolite is Raylene’s whaanau name, and Randall and Evan are also names carried by her brothers. Across the wider Hippolite whaanau there are three Randalls and three Evans spread through different generations. So during tournament week, knowing which Randall or Evan is being talked about can sometimes require a little extra clarification.

For Raylene and Fred, though, the routine is familiar. Find the court, find the whaanau, and support whoever is up next.

Across coaches, players, scorebench, whaanau and mokopuna, the Bishop family has become part of the fabric of the National Tournament — not all doing the same thing, but all sharing the same week.

For them, the tournament is less about one team or one grade and more about seeing the whole whaanau involved, each in their own way.