Auckland team ‘Triple Threat' took out the final of the New Zealand Beach Hockey Championship at the Mount on Saturday.

They beat New Plymouth's ‘Sandy Cracks' to claim the coveted Giant Jandal for 2017.

Event organiser Jason Niles says it's a nice opportunity for hockey players and non-hockey players to come together for a fun day.

'The whole day was pretty well-supported. A lot of people coming down the boardwalk stopped to have a look.”

He says the novelty sport, which he first saw in Germany, is growing in New Zealand.

'We started at the Mount five years ago, and it's grown every year. I think we only had five teams in the first year, and now we have 16.”

Beach hockey is a fast-paced game played over eight minutes. Games used to be longer, but Jason says players were absolutely knackered by the end of the day – it can be tough running around in the heat and the sand.

This year's 16 teams were divided into four pools, from which two top teams each were chosen for quarter-finals. The winners of those matches then progressed to the semis, and then the final, in much the same fashion as Rugby Sevens.

Triple Threat's ‘trophy' is a giant inflatable jandal, around 1.5 metres high, which they keep until next year, where it will again be fought over.