2018 NZSS Ki o Rahi Nationals Rules and Registrations
The 2018 NZSS Ki o Rahi Nationals are just over a month away, schools all around the country are deep into preparations for the tournament to be held in Gisborne over 2 days - the 16th & 17th April 2018.
Rules and Registration forms have been sent out, but for those who may not have received them you can find them here:
2018 NZSS Ki o Rahi Nationals Rules
2018 NZSS Ki o Rahi Nationals Registration
Does your team know the rules?
For those that are unaware, the rules at Nationals are usually quite different to those played in your rohe (region), so it makes a lot of sense to have a good read over the rules and send through any questions you have about them well before the tournament.
Now, is actually a really good time to do this! Sometimes teams wait until the night before the tournament to seek clarification and often this can be too late, this means that teams may have prepared for months in a certain set of rules before having to make changes the night before and this is not ideal.
Simply have a read over the rules and send any questions through to the organiser, this will allow your team to prepare accurately for the tournament and not have to worry about any surprises come tournament time. However, don't expect an immediate reply as the organiser could be getting emails from several different coaches at any one time.
We've had a look over the rules and there has been very little change from the last nationals. The only major changes are as follows:
1.11 - No Tag Shorts allowed.
1.16 - If a game ends in a draw, the first team that scored in the game becomes the winner
Other important rules that all teams should become familiar with are:
1.2 - Only 14 players per game to be used; extra 2 players to wear hi-vis/non-uniform
1.8 - Rolling subs; must sub off the field
1.13 - No bare feet
2.1 - Kick off must land in Pawero on the full
2.2 - Maximum of 3 Kaitiaki
3.3 - No running in Te Ara with ball
3.5 - 5 seconds for Kaitiaki to pass out
3.6 - 1 point for stepping on or inside wairua
3.8 - Both feet must be kept down when leaning in to Te Roto (and any other zone)
4.5 - Touching same POU twice equals a re-count
5.3 - Fumbling ball in Te Roto equals handover
6.13 - No guarding the pou
7.16 - No use of offensive language during the game; subs and coaching staff included
9.7 - 3 seconds to pass when one tag ripped
There are plenty of rules, so become as familiar as possible with them before the tournament to ensure your team isn't frustrated by the calls they receive during the tournament, this will help make things easier on the referees too. We all know it's a very hard game to referee as there's so much happening!
Have you sent your Registration through yet?
The deadline for NZSS Ki o Rahi Nationals 2018 is at the end of March, so make sure you send the registration through to Whetu Rangihaeata - whetu@uawa.ac.nz