The ceremonial entrance item of a kapa haka performance, in which a team enters the stage together in song and movement and sets the tone for everything that follows.
Whakaeke is the entrance item of a kapa haka set. The team comes on to the stage already performing, usually in a formation that opens out as the song builds, and the item ends when the group is in position for the next piece. It is not a warm-up: in a national-style programme it is one of the seven compulsory items that count towards the final placing, so a team is marked on it with the same weight as the haka or the poi.
On eTalenter the item is installed once, on the New Zealand secondary schools kapa haka template. It is a team entry in te reo Maori for mixed teams in a single Kura Tuarua group, ages 13 to 18, scored out of 100. The template follows the structure of the national kapa haka rules, where each compulsory item is scored out of 100 and the team’s set of all seven items must fit inside a 25-minute window.
A strong whakaeke does three jobs at once. It introduces the team and, usually, the theme of its whole set; it shows the quality of the group’s voices and unison movement straight away; and it gets the team into its starting positions without a visible pause. Teams lodge the words of their items in advance, so the panel can follow the te reo while it listens.
Organisers run whakaeke as a separate scored item, not as a preamble, because the opening is where a team’s discipline shows first. A single score for it also gives coaches clear feedback: a team can lose the item on entrance timing or on ragged voices while still winning the haka.
Where Whakaeke is run
On eTalenter, Whakaeke is used in one template: the New Zealand secondary schools kapa haka template (Kapa Haka Nationals), where it is the first of the seven compulsory items. The wider practice, a formal entrance item that opens a kapa haka set, belongs to Maori performing arts in Aotearoa New Zealand and to kapa haka groups run by schools and communities there. The template is built from the national event rules; the age range for the secondary event is recorded as unverified because that event does not publish its own rules.
- New Zealand (Aotearoa)
Key facts
- Team entry in te reo Maori, mixed teams, one Kura Tuarua group (ages 13 to 18 on the template)
- Scored out of 100; one of seven compulsory items that decide the final placing
- All seven compulsory items must fit within 25 minutes in total (a 5-point penalty applies on the national model)
- Five judges score each compulsory item; the highest and lowest marks are dropped and the middle three are averaged
- The words of each item are lodged in advance, so the panel can read along
- Idea, not a rule: tie the entrance song to the theme of the whole set so the opening makes the rest of the set easier to follow
On eTalenter, Whakaeke is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Whakaeke is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100.
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means. The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed. Others in this category: Dance, Music, Drama, Mimicry, Debate, Elocution, Story Telling, Group Song, Action Song eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed. No criteria match this name, so none are created automatically — judges score it on the event’s own criteria instead.How it is scored
Where it sits
Judging criteria installed for it
What judges look at in Whakaeke
What a Whakaeke panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Unison and timing on entry: the whole team arrives, moves and settles on the same beat, with no stragglers or visible pause
- Voice quality and blend: clean, strong, balanced singing from the first bar, not a loud opening that tires by the end
- Accuracy and clarity of te reo: words pronounced correctly and projected so the judges can follow them against the lodged text
- Introduction of the theme: the entrance should tell the panel what the set is about, in words, gesture and formation
- Formation control: spacing, lines and transitions into the starting positions look deliberate and clean
- Presence and energy: eye contact, posture and a confident start, held through to the final position
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Whakaeke under Scoring Setup, or start from the judge scoring and tabulation guide.
How to prepare for Whakaeke
How entrants and their teachers usually get Whakaeke right on the day:
- Rehearse the entrance from the wings, not from the stage centre; most lost marks come from the walk-on, not the song
- Mark the stage with tape or chalk during practice so every performer knows their first position and each shift
- Practise the first thirty seconds more than any other part, with the whole team, until the unison is automatic
- Run it with the real stage depth and width; a hall that is narrower than the practice room will break the formation
- Check the lodged lyrics against what the team actually sings, line by line, before the day
- Time the opening against the full 25-minute set so a long entrance does not squeeze later items
- After a regional loss, record the entrance on video and review the first minute for timing and spacing rather than overhauling the whole piece
Events that run this (1)
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Whakaeke judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is Whakaeke the same as the haka?
No. Whakaeke is the entrance item and is scored separately. The haka is its own compulsory item with its own score, and the two should not be mixed up on a score sheet.
Is Whakaeke judged individually or as a team?
As a team. The whole group is scored together out of 100, and individual performers are not marked separately for it.
How long is a Whakaeke?
The template sets no separate limit for it. On the national model, all seven compulsory items together must fit inside 25 minutes, so a team decides how much of that time the entrance takes.
Can a team skip it?
Not on this template: it is one of the seven compulsory items that decide the placing. Only Waiata Tira is optional.
Want the full judging picture? Read the judge scoring and tabulation guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try Whakaeke in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Whakaeke, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
