What schools are heading to Secondary School's Ki o Rahi Nationals in April 2019?
Over the past few weeks we’ve been trying to find out more information about the Ki o Rahi tournaments happening around Aotearoa in 2019.
You can find the full list of events here. If you’re reading this and you have a tournament in your rohe please contact us, we’d be happy to advertise for you.
We’ve also been trying to find out which teams may be heading to Nationals and here is what we’ve found out so far:
Most regions held their National Qualifiers in 2018, however there are still a few regional tournaments happening in the lead up to Nationals
It makes things a little tricky but we’ve managed to pull together a pretty good list.
Below are schools that placed at the top of their regionals, we’ve guessed how many each region might send along based on how many they’ve sent in the past. (Different regions are able to send different numbers of teams, and this is based on the number of teams they have attending their regionals)
Representing Te Tai Tokerau (Northland)
Te Kura Kaupapa Maaori o Kaikohe - 2018 Ki o Rahi Secondary School Nationals
Okaihau College and Te Kura Kaupapa Maaori o Kaikohe
Te Kura Kaupapa Maaori o Kaikohe have been attending Secondary School Nationals for a long time now, so you can count on them being there. Okaihau College beat Kaikohe at the Northland Secondary School Regionals in 2018 so it would be a good time for them to attend Nationals - this will be their first time at Nationals, we encourage them to get along, you’ll learn so much and it will make you want to keep coming back.
Representing Taamaki Makaurau (Auckland)
Te Kura Maaori o Ngaa Tapuwae - 2018 Ki o Rahi Secondary School Nationals
Te Kura Maaori o Nga Tapuwae, Te Wharekura o Hoani Waititi, Nga Puna o Waiorea (Western Springs College) and possibly Westlake Boys & Girls
Taamaki Makaurau have sent 3 - 4 teams in the past and of these four you have three that have been there before - you can expect to see Nga Tapuwae, Hoani and Waiorea in Te Matau a Maui.
Representing Waikato
Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga - 2018 Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga, Hamilton Boys and Girls, Tokoroa High School, Tai Wananga
Some really gun teams amongst this lot, Rakaumanga and Tai Wananga will definitely be there, Hamilton and Tokoroa have qualified in previous years and haven’t made the trip to Nationals so they are a maybe. They would make the tournament really tough for other teams if they do attend so here’s hoping they get some fundraisers going, be awesome to have them both back at Nationals!
Representing Tairawhiti (East Coast)
Te Waiu & UAWA - 2018 Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
The Coast’s regionals are to be held Wednesday 6th March 2019, this will determine who heads to Nationals - if the past is anything to go by we can guess that UAWA (Tolaga Bay Area School), Kawakawa mai Tawhiti and Te Waiu o Ngaati Porou will be there as they’ve been the main representatives from this area in recent times.
Representing Tuuranga (Gisborne)
Lytton High & Horouta Wananga - 2018 Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
Just like their whanau on the coast, Tuuranga have their regionals in March 2019, you will likely see Horouta Wananga, Ritana Toa (Lytton High), Tuuranga Wahine Tuuranga Taane and Nga Uri a Maui representing Gisborne, but that’s just a guess. Another tough area this one with Horouta, Ritana and TWTT all being top teams at last years Nationals.
Representing Te Nehenehenui
Te Kuiti High School - 2018 Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
Te Kuiti High and Piopio College. Te Kuiti finished 1st at the inaugural Te Nehenehenui regionals so they’ll be at Nats for sure - they seem to love their Ki o Rahi at Te Kuiti and have already been to a few National Tournaments. Piopio College get their first chance, kia kaha Piopio be nice to see you guys there!
Representing Rotorua
Rotorua Boys and Girls - 2018 Ki o Rahi Secondary School Nationals
Over the last few years we’ve only had Rotorua Boys and Girls in attendance, these guys and girls will more than likely be in Hastings, they’ve been a team on the rise so I’d expect them to be back in action!
Representing Tuwharetoa
The Tuwharetoa regionals are also happening in March, qualifiers could be anyone from Hirangi, Taupo nui a Tia or Tongariro. These are just based on teams who have represented the area in the past, but by no means is it ruling any one else out. Who will rep Tuwharetoa at 2019 Nationals!
Representing Taranaki
Taranaki held their first Ki o Rahi Tournament last year and Patea Area School have already expressed interest in heading along, whether they do or not it is awesome to hear about the development of Ki o Rahi in this part of Aotearoa.
Representing Te Matau a Maaui (Hawkes Bay)
Karamu High School - 2018 Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
Haven’t heard from Te Matau a Maaui - must be keeping it TOP SECRET as the Nationals heads to this beautiful part of the country. Being so close to home you can bet there will be a few teams representing Te Matau a Maaui, my picks are Hastings Boys/Hukarere Girls, Karamu High School and Te Ara Hou.
Representing Manawatu/Horowhenua
Palmerston North Boys and Girls - 2018 Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
Palmerston North Boys & Girls, Tai Wananga Tu Toa
Palmy Boys and Girls love Ki o Rahi Nationals - they’ll be there, be nice to see Tai Waananga Tu Toa in action also.
Representing Whanganui
Haven’t heard from our whanaunga from Whanganui but there’s a range of schools that could be represented - Cullinane College and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tupoho are pretty regular attendees, Te Kura o Kokohuia also represented in 2018.
Representing Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington)
Mana College - 2018 Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
Mana College and Tawa College
Mana are hearty Ki o Rahi supporters we’ll see them in Hastings, Tawa may or may not have been there before, be nice to see them rep their region and come get some vital ki o rahi experience.
Representing Nelson/Tasman
Another area that are playing Ki o Rahi and have had a team from Nelson at Nationals before, a big trip for any of our teams from the South Island but be awesome to have a school or two from this part of the country!
Representing Canterbury
Linwood College were a surprise inclusion at the 2018 Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals - they got some good wins in and I’d love to see them again in 2019.
Representing Murihiku (Southland)
Aurora College, Menzies College
Coming all the way up from the bottom of Te Waipounamu would be tough but it would mean so much to the event, can’t wait for the day we get a team from Murihiku!
Who’s missing?
These are the main areas we’ve heard are doing Ki o Rahi - we at kiorahi.com would love to hear from anyone else running tournaments around the country - better yet we’d like to see your teams get along to Ki o Rahi Nationals in Hastings this year!
Places like Whakatane, Tauranga and Te Urewera come to mind! Kia kaha koutou!
For more information you can contact us here.