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It started with a plastic funnel

In 1993 Peter Williams lined up a conversion off a plastic funnel with the top cut off, and missed. Two failed prototypes and one very helpful plastics company later, the first Supertee went on sale in 1996. Here's how it happened.

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1996The first Supertee goes on sale
500Tees sold in the first year
11Models, all designed by Daryl
8Countries that sell Supertee

How it started

From a funnel to a world of kicking tees

As told by co-founder Peter Williams, who built the very first prototype with a borrowed sewing machine.

1993
A funnel with the top cut off

A new rule meant every conversion had to be kicked off a tee. Playing for the Teddy Bears, a social side in Wellington, Peter was handed a plastic funnel with the top cut off. He missed, and set out to build something better.
Take one: the bean bag

The first prototype was a fabric pouch of plastic beads on a hard plastic cylinder. All Black Matthew Cooper liked it enough to plan to use it in an NPC game, until his boot ripped the cover during warm-up and sprayed beads across the field.
1994
Take two: mouldable plastic

A chat at the Bond Street Tavern led to a plastics factory and a tee you could shape by hand. The catch: in the heat the plastic sprang back to its original shape, and the ball rolled off.
1996
The first Supertee

A mate pointed Peter to Inztep in Wanganui, who made the tee slightly larger and harder. Stirling Sports on Dominion Road agreed to stock it if it came in packaging, so it went out in a plastic bag with a stapled header. About 500 sold in the first year.
1997
Daryl Halligan comes on board

Peter's second cousin Daryl was arguably the best goal kicker in the world at the time. He trialled the tee, loved it and used it that weekend, curling a sideline conversion over the black dot.
1998
Boffo is born

Peter offered Daryl half the company, and Daryl had one condition: it had to be fun. A thesaurus entry for “super” gave them Jim Dandy or Boffo. Boffo Enterprises, now Boffo Sports, it was.
Made for the NRL

Daryl saw that every NRL game starts with a kick-off and kickers weren't fussy about which tee they used. So he designed tees for it, starting with the Supertee Kick-Off (Rock) and the Supertee King.
2018
Dan Carter joins the company

Dan, who endorses Supertee and has a tee named after him, joined the company in 2018.
Today
Sold around the world

Every Supertee is still designed by Daryl, and the range is sold in New Zealand, Australia, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Japan.

He strikes it from a sideline conversion. It's missing, it's way out right. Wait, it's shaping, it's curling from right to left, it's over the black dot. You're a bloody legend, Daryl Halligan!

Peter Williams, watching Daryl's first kick off a Supertee in 1997

What every Supertee has to do

When Daryl came on board he set out what a great kicking tee needs to do. Every Supertee since has been built to his list.

01
Expose the sweet spot

The ball sits so you can see the sweet spot and strike it cleanly.
02
Come in a range of heights

Different kickers, different strikes. There should be a height for each of them.
03
Hold the ball at any angle

Forwards, straight up or side to side, however you like to set it.
04
Stay light

So there's almost no impact on contact.
05
Keep out of the ball's flight

The tee shouldn't change where the ball goes.
06
Stand firm in the wind

A firm base that won't wobble when the wind gets up.