Road to the 2021 NZ Secondary School Kī o Rahi Nationals

The whaanau from Lincoln High School in Waitaha have been using the #kiaorakīorahinats2021 to give everyone small insights into their preperation for the 2021 Ki o Rahi Nationals in Waiting

The road has been long and windy, there have been a couple of little bumps and a major crash along the way. There are still a few checkpoints to get through however, the 2021 Tai Tokerau NZ Secondary School Kī o Rahi Nationals are just around the corner. Hopefully we get there.

To help build a bit of anticipation for the tournament we thought we would re-view the placings from Hastings in 2019. We already have a few schools sharing the hashtag: #kiaorakīorahinats2021 on facebook and instagram so if that’s something you would like to do, to give whānau a small insight into your preparation then feel free!

Before we look back at the 2019 ladder let us first look at the qualifiers from each region so far, bare in mind, this is not a definite list. Some rohe are yet to have their regionals and some of these schools who have qualified may or may not decide to attend the Nationals. It is just an insight into who might be attending!

Te Ika ā Maui

Te Tai Tokerau

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kaikohe, Okaihau College, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Taumarere, Bay of Islands College

Being at home in Te Tai Tokerau, we can assume it is likely that all these teams will be there.

Tāmaki Makaurau

Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae, Ngā Puna o Waiorea, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae, Botany Downs College

Nga Tapuwae, Waiorea and Hoani have been regulars over the last few nationals. Although Covid could make it hard for them and the ASB Polyfest might also contribute to making things difficult, safe to say at least two of these teams will be there.

Waikato

Waikato Regionals are to be held 10th March 2021

Safe to say Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga will be one of the qualifiers, possibly Hamilton Boys and Girls and Tokoroa High School, whatever the case, the Waikato contingent will be strong.

Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty Regionals were originally going to be held 3rd March 2021, however, they are now postponed until a new date can be organised

Rotorua Boys and Girls would be favourites from this region, they’ve been regularly attending since 2017. Another possibility could be Opotiki College.

Tūranganui a Kiwa

Tūranga Wāhine Tūranga Tāne (Gisborne Girls and Boys), Ritana (Lytton High), Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Horouta Wānanga, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hawaiki Hou

Generally Turanga and Waikato have the strongest contingent of teams, at least 3 of these 4 should make the trip up.

Tairawhiti

Ngati Porou East Coast held their regionals this week, haven’t been able to find out their results as yet. But I’ll bet Te Waiu did well and they’ll be there again!

Te Matau ā Māui

Lindisfarne College & Napier Girls High, Hastings Boys & Girls High (Akina), Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Wānanga Whare Tapere o Takitimu, Karamu High School

Some really good teams are emerging from Te Matau a Maui, Karamu have been strong for a while and Hastings Boys and Girls were top 4 last nationals. I think we can count on at least 3 of these teams to be there.

Tuwharetoa

Taumarunui High School, Tongario School, Te Kura o Hirangi

A couple of new teams emerging in Tuwharetoa with Taumarunui placing first at the recent regionals. Having not attended before can make it hard but they will definitely benefit from their involvement. Tongariro have attended Nationals in the past (was a while ago) and Hirangi have been there too. Hopefully we get at least two of these teams along.

Te Nehenehenui

To be held 7th April 2021, contact Rangi at sport@tkhs.school.nz for more information

Te Kuiti are almost a given from this region. Lets at least say they’ll be there.

Taranaki

Patea Area School, Te Kahui o Wharekura

Patea attended their first nationals in 2019, so we think they’ll be back.

Horowhenua Manawatū

Palmerston North Boys and Girls High, Dannevirke High, Waiopehu College, Fielding High

A couple of teams here who have been regulars over the past few years, here’s hoping we get at least two of the four.

Whanganui

The Whanganui region were unable to have their regionals in 2020 due to covid, be interesting to see if we get a couple of teams from here along.

Pōneke

Mana College, Tawa College, Te Kura o Ngā Mokopuna, Taita College

From the bottom of the North Island to the top - will our teams from Wellington make the trip up? They’re there every other year so I think we will get at least three of the four. Mana are always there.

Te Wai Pounamu

Tasman

Have been postponed til a date can be organised

Not sure if we will get a team from Tasman, I know the interest is growing, however, the postponement of the latest regionals might make preparation a bit hard. Fingers crossed!

Waitaha

Lincoln High School, Hagley College, Te Kura Whakapūmau i te reo tūturu ki Waitaha

According to the hashtag #kiaorakīorahinats2021 on instagram, Lincoln High School will be there!

Based on this, we could have at least 25 teams at Nationals. This is a nice amount and would make things easy to manage for our hosts. In saying that, we’ve had over 30 teams at the last two nationals so we could also have anywhere between 30 and 40 teams.

It is always cool seeing new teams attend, we really encourage them to do so. You will play against some of the best teams in the country and what you’ll learn from this tournament you get to take back to your own regionals and really cement your own way of playing. If you can dominate your regionals you can guarantee you will be at every Nationals and just imagine how good your team will be after 3 or 4 nationals!

Next time, we’ll check out the table from 2019 Nationals. For now, start taking some photos or videos of your teams preparation for Nationals and share it with us using #kiaorakīorahinats2021