2019 NZ Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals - Are you ready?
2018 NZ Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
With registrations closing on Friday just gone, things start to get a little more real for the schools travelling to Hastings for the 2019 New Zealand Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals.
2019 is shaping up to be one of the biggest Ki o Rahi Nationals of all time - we’ve had a few more regionals happening around the country than usual and there is a strong possiblity that we have between 24 and 30 schools in attendance, the list below will show you all the teams who have qualified over the past year:
Northland: Okaihau College, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kaikohe
Auckland: Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Hoani Waititi, Nga Puna o Waiorea (Western Springs), Westlake Boys/Girls
Waikato: Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga, Hamilton Boys and Girls High School, Tokoroa High School, Tai Wananga
Bay of Plenty: Rotorua Boys and Girls High School, Opotiki College
Tairawhiti East Coast: Tolaga Bay Area School (UAWA), Ngata Memorial College, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Waiu o Ngati Porou
Gisborne: Ritana Toa (Lytton High), Turanga Wahine Turanga Tane (Gisborne Girls/Boys), Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Horouta Wananga
Tuwharetoa: Te Kura o Hirangi, Te Kura o Ngapuke, Tarawera High School
Te Nehenehenui: Te Kuiti High School, Piopio College
Hawkes Bay: Hastings Boys and Girls, Karamu High School, Te Aute College & Hukarere Girls
Manawatu/Horowhenua: Palmerston North Boys and Girls, Tai Wananga Tu Toa
Whanganui: Cullinane College, Te Kura o Kokohuia, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tupoho
Wellington: Mana College, Tawa College
Tasman: Waimea College, Nelson College
Murihiku/Southland: Aurora College, Menzies College
2018 NZ Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
Whilst not all teams who qualified will attend I’ll hazard a guess and say that probably 80% of them will be there, missing from this list is the East Coast lot for now, so 24 - 30 teams looks to be a reality.
With the draw to come out shortly we’re guessing there will be something like 4 pools of 6 teams or 6 pools of 5 teams, meaning come Day 1 you should expect to have either 4 or 5 games. Coaches you need to make sure your team recovers well because Day 2 is where all the action is.
2018 NZ Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
Day 2 is usually kept for the finals - quarters, semis and grand finals - no matter where you finish on Day 1 you should have at least one or two games come Day 2. You need to be playing at your best come Day 2.
The great thing about Ki o Rahi is that any team can beat anyone on their day, however if you have one of these teams in your pool then you best be on:
Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae, Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Horouta Wananga, Ritana Toa, Turanga Wahine Turanga Tane, Rotorua Boys and Girls, Hastings Boys/Girls, Mana College, Hamilton Boys and Girls, Tokoroa High School
These teams have proven over the years that they come to play, they have years of experience at Nationals and know what it takes to make it into the Top 8.
2018 NZ Secondary School Ki o Rahi Nationals
What do you need to know?
By now your team should be well up to play with the National Rules - these were sent out a while ago - you can find them here on a previous blog we have done. The National Rules have remained fairly consistent over the years however there are slight tweaks to the rules every year - for example in 2019 you’re only allowed 2 kaitiaki guarding Te Tupu. So make sure coaches and players both read over the rules before coming down.
You should also have been playing to the National Field Dimensions - not having trained to this specific field can be detrimental to your team. You can also find these here.
The draw should be out shortly, make sure to check back to see our breakdown.