| Most recent season or competition: 2024 Farah Palmer Cup | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Owner(s) | New Zealand Rugby Union |
| No. of teams | 13 |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Most recent champion(s) | Auckland (16th Premiership Title) |
| Most titles | Auckland (16 Titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Sky Sport |
| Sponsor(s) | Bunnings Warehouse |
| Related competitions | Heartland Championship National Provincial Championship |
| Official website | provincial.rugby/farah-palmer-cup |
The Farah Palmer Cup (formerly known as Women's Provincial Championship until 2016), is the highest level domestic women's rugby union competition in New Zealand and is named after the former Black Ferns captain, Farah Palmer. This contest is held annually from early July to mid September and managed by the New Zealand Rugby Union, or NZRU. The competition was first introduced in 1999, with a total of fourteen teams competing initially. The number of teams increased to eighteen in the year 2000, but has decreased to as few as six teams, with 13 currently featured. Canterbury are the current holders of the JJ Stewart Trophy, the women's equivalent of the Ranfurly Shield.[1] The Farah Palmer Cup is an amateur competition; players are not paid salaries and hold jobs outside of rugby.[2]
- ^ "Rugby: Volcanix provincial battles televised". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
- ^ "Go pro? Black Ferns rugby debate – where to after fabulous World Cup triumph", The New Zealand Herald, 28 August 2017 ("Tew said the domestic nine-team Farah Palmer Cup was purely amateur").