2022 Te Waipounamu Secondary School Kī o Rahi Tournament
The 12th - 14th October 2022 will see the first ever Te Waipounamu Secondary School Kī-o-Rahi Tournament in Christchurch.
Ngā Puna Wai Sportshub and Ara Institute of Canterbury will play host to the Secondary School Kī-o-Rahi Tournament exclusive to Secondary Schools in Te Waipounamu (The South Island).
Hosting the event will be Kī-o-Rahi ki Waitaha and The Kutt Kollective.
Kī-o-Rahi has been growing strongly in Te Waipounamu for many years now, however, we rarely see teams at Secondary School Nationals. The likely reason is the cost of attending a tournament in Te Ika a Māui.
However, over the past 5 years, we have seen an increase in attendees from Te Waipounamu namely the Waitaha Region, these include Lincoln High School, Linwood College, Te Kura Whakapumau i te Reo Tūturu ki Waitaha and Hagley College.
This bodes well as they look likely to host a National Tournament in 2024.
It only makes sense that as they build towards this National Tournament that a Secondary School Tournament for Te Waipounamu is started. This allows Te Waipounamu whānui to come together and participate in a high level tournament prior to a National Tournament.
This game will expose the different regions of Te Waipounamu to a high level of Kī-o-Rahi as well as build experience and resources such as kaiwawao, coaches and administrators.
If I were a Kura in Te Waipounamu I would take this chance to head along and experience what Kī-o-Rahi is like at the top level.
The competition is only open to 16 teams and you can find more information here.