MEDIA REPORTS
14 September 2010: Northland Age
Taipa students Barcelona-bound
MAJESTIC:
One of a series of striking photographs of Taipa Area School's ki-o-rahi
team, taken at Hukatere (90 Mile Beach) for a brochure that will be distributed
in Europe. ANNA TRIPP
In less than a week, and with just under $10,000 still to raise, Taipa Area School's ki-o-rahi team will be guest performers at one of Spain's biggest annual festivals.
The 14 students, who will be accompanied by five adults, are scheduled to stage several performances at Barcelona's La Merce Festival between Friday and Sunday next week, including 15 lengthy kapa haka performances incorporating theatre and interactive games to demonstrate the ancient Maori ball game ki-o-rahi.
Hailey Tobin, the Taipa teacher who is leading the group, said the students had been preparing intensively for the trip, the intensity building with a series of overnight live-ins over the last month.
"As part of the festival, our group will be performing on-stage in a number of public arenas, including a curtain raiser for an international rugby match against France," she added.
"It's a really spectacular event, and our kids are really gearing up for it," said Mandy Hudson, Taipa sports co-ordinator, who will also betravelling with the team.
"We are kind of freaking out because we didn't anticipate how big it would really be. Our students are going to be performing in front of massive crowds. It will be an unforgettable experience for all of us."
Dating back more than a century, the festival began after a papal decree naming the Virgin of La Merce the patron saint of Barcelona. Spectators are drawn every year to see the famous religious and cultural street parades, myriad exhibitions and performances relating to dance, theatre, music and art that take place across the city.
"The build-up to this trip has been an amazing journey," Hailey added. "We had many non-believers who simply didn't think we could do it. All credit goes to the students, families and local supporters who have worked really hard to make this possible."
The students were also looking forward to meeting the New Zealand ki-o-rahi team, led by Buck Shelford, in Gif sur Yvette, near Paris, where both teams will participate in an international touch tournament.
"It is a great honour for our small rural school to be offered this opportunity, so we are making the most of it," she said.
Meanwhile Anna Tripp, who has been in charge of community liaison, said the fundraising shortfall of $10,000 would hopefully be covered before the party flies out from Auckland on Monday. A lunch was to be catered for this week, and raffles and other fundraising efforts would continue until the last moment.
"We might be busking at the airport," she said, but whatever happened the party would be on the plane.
Air fares and accommodation had been paid for, the last $10,000 [from an original target of $81,000] being needed to ensure that the tourists would enjoy French and Spanish cuisine, as opposed to surviving on noodles.
The support so far had been phenomenal, the team having many local business people to thank as well as the Southern Trust, the Oxford Trust and Te Puni Kokiri. The team also wished to acknowledge Te Runanga o Ngapuhi and Ngati Kuri Trust Board for their generous support.
More information about the game, the tour and the group visit can be found at www.kiorahi.co.nz.
Press releases
June 2010
Taipa Ki-O-Rahi and Haka, Aotearoa, New Zealand
Taipa Area School, from the Far North of New Zealand presents “Ki-o-rahi” an ancient Maori ball game based on legend and spiritual pathways to the stars. A group of students aged 13-16 will take spectators on a journey telling stories of their landscape, culture, history and people performed through waiata (song) and haka (dance). During World War II, the 28th Maori Battalion bought Ki-O-Rahi and other pastimes to Europe. Today, the game is still recognized and played in parts of Italy and in the north of France where these students will participate in a tournament against French teams on October 2.
Ki-O-Rahi is a fast-paced sport incorporating skills similar to rugby union, netball and touch rugby – sports that are actively played in New Zealand today. Two teams of seven players play on a circular field divided into zones, and score points by touching the 'pou' (boundary markers) and hitting a central 'tupu' or target. The game is based around a Māori ancestor named Rahi Tu Taka Hina and has a strong link to the constellation Matariki (Pleiades) as seen in the seven pou representing the seven stars of Matariki, an important symbol for Maori.
7 April 2010
Taipa Ki-o-Rahi Stars Come Third at National Competition in Tolaga Bay
Taipa Area School senior Ki-o-Rahi team scooped third place at the New Zealand National championships played over two days in Tolaga Bay last week (Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd April 2010).
Overall winners and hosts of the event, Tolaga Bay Area School entered two senior teams taking first and fourth place. The experienced Tolaga Bay side set the rules for the tournament and as expected, were tough competition.
"Day one was an opportunity for our kids to get their heads around the Tolaga Bay rules. They also got their first real chance to play together as a team. Ki-o-Rahi is a new sport for Taipa Area School so students we were excited to have the opportunity to compete against other schools throughout New Zealand at such a high level," said Sports Coordinator, Mandy Hudson from Taipa Area School.
At the end of the first day, Taipa Area School had demonstrated their natural talent and skill in Ki-o-Rahi and were placed among the top four teams to go into the semi-finals for day two.
Finals day began with a frosty East Coast morning before the heat of Tolaga Bay set in. Taipa played the very strategic Tolaga Bay 1 in an intense exchange which saw Taipa just losing to Tolaga Bay by three points in the dying moments. Tolaga Bay 1 went on to win the National competition against a very experienced Rakaumangamanga side. For third and fourth placings, Taipa beat Tolaga Bay 2 by a very convincing margin.
"Everyone including the other coaches and supporters were so impressed by the performance of our team given we are all so new to the game and the competition, our kids simply exceeded everyone's expectations", said supporting teacher Hailey Tobin.
A heads up for the Taipa Team saw Ki-o-Rahi selectors naming 5 students to join the New Zealand Secondary School teams for boys and girls. They are; Margaret Tait, Maraeatia Gardiner-Toi, Josh Robson, Anton Osborne and Hori Robson.
These students will go on to train as the New Zealand Secondary Schools team and will also play the New Zealand adult team in July this year in Napier.
"This ancient Maori game is currently undergoing a revival in the Far North. We are so pleased to introduce it into our school and to see our kids succeed at it", says Hailey.
In 2005, Ki-o-Rahi was introduced into the junior curriculum in the United States with the game being played in more than 30,000 schools there.
21 March 2010
Ki-o-Rahi takes centre stage at Taipa for Small Blacks TV
Photos & text by Anna Tripp & Paulette Lewis
Small Blacks TV hosted by Jason Faafoi made a special trip to Taipa Area School last week to discover the wealth of young talent making a name for the traditional Maori game of Ki-o-Rahi.
Ki-o-Rahi is a Maori sporting movement making its revival in the Far North. Similar to Australian Rules Football, the game is played in three concentric circles incorporating many of the ball handling skills involved in rugby union, netball and touch.
Traditional Maori games enthusiast, Harko Brown, describes Ki o Rahi as an indigenous game imbued with tikanga Maori and a very long pre-European history.
With the recent victory of both the Te Rarawa team taking out the Iwi Bowl, and Taipa Area School winning the Primary Schools tournament at Waitangi Celebrations in February, TV host Jason Faafoi and his team decided to come and check out the action.
Jason said the game was surprisingly easy to pick up. "Once we started playing, it was pretty intense, especially being a defender for the Kioma team".
Based on the accomplishments of the juniors, the senior students at Taipa School have received an invitation to attend the National Secondary schools Ki-o-Rahi tournament, being hosted in Uawa - Tolaga Bay. The team will travel during the Easter break to match skill and wit against other Ki-o-Rahi players from schools across the country.
The rise and current success of Ki-o-Rahi in the Far North can be attributed to the collaboration of educators and service providers out in the field, promoting and teaching the game in schools and the wider community.
"We just want to see our young people getting out there enjoying the game and learning about the history of the game. It's been very empowering to learn and pass down the traditions of Ki-o-Rahi and we're only just getting started" says Te Oranga Youth Worker Paulette Lewis.
Together with Robbie Bristowe, the Te Oranga duo have been a mainstay in many local schools this term sharing their knowledge and enjoyment of the game. "We take a practical 'train the trainer' approach. Kids are picking up the game really fast and now we want them to share it with their friends and families", says Robbie.
The visit rounded up some great support, with Te Rarawa chairperson Haami Piripi present to note how successfully the game is being reintroduced in the Far North, backing it up with Te Rarawa's stunning win in Waitangi.
Ki-o-Rahi is a sport played in parts of Europe and throughout the US. Paulette Lewis will be joining Harko Brown and the New Zealand National Ki-o-Rahi squad later this year to play test matches against France in September.
Says Paulette, "this is an exciting opportunity to exchange cultures and knowledge of the game of Ki-o-Rahi with our French opponents - this will be an awesome experience".
Thanks and acknowledgements to Taipa Area School, Pepi Patch, Te Runanga o Te Rarawa - Te Oranga, Harko Brown and Small Blacks TV.
