Whakawatea Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

The whakawatea item of a kapa haka set, the closing farewell in which the team leaves the stage in song and movement, ending the set on a clear, controlled note.

Whakawatea is the sixth compulsory item of a kapa haka set and the one that closes the performance. It is a farewell: the team sings and moves as it clears the stage, so the panel sees the set end as deliberately as it began. The word is te reo Maori, and the item is performed in te reo.

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 with marks as the score type. The template follows the national kapa haka rules, where each compulsory item is scored out of 100 and the whole set of seven must fit inside 25 minutes, so the exit has to be timed as part of that window.

A finished entry usually has a short, strong song or chant that carries the team off in formation, with the movement and the voices staying together right to the last performer leaving. Because it comes last, it is the final impression the judges take into their scoring, and a ragged departure can undo the good work of the earlier items.

The words are lodged in advance like the rest of the set, so the panel can follow the te reo and its meaning. Teams usually plan the exit path, the order of leaving and the final line of the song together, so that nothing is left to chance in front of the judges.

Where Whakawatea is run

On eTalenter, Whakawatea is used in one template: the New Zealand secondary schools kapa haka template, where it is the sixth of the seven compulsory items. Kapa haka is the Maori performing art of Aotearoa New Zealand and is performed at school, community and national events. 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
• Five judges score each compulsory item; the highest and lowest marks are dropped and the middle three are averaged
• All seven compulsory items must fit within 25 minutes in total; the template sets no separate time limit for whakawatea
• It is the closing item, so the exit from the stage is part of what is judged
• Idea, not a rule: rehearse the walk-off on the actual stage dimensions, since a long exit path eats into the shared 25 minutes

On eTalenter, Whakawatea 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, Whakawatea is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in Whakawatea

What a Whakawatea panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Vocal quality and clarity of te reo: words stay audible and correct even while the team is moving off
• Unison of voices and movement: singing and actions finish together across the whole team
• Discipline of the exit: formation, spacing and order of leaving stay controlled to the last performer
• Expression and energy: the team keeps its presence and does not drift into a relaxed walk
• Structure and ending: the song has a clear final line and the set closes decisively
• Timing: the exit fits inside the shared 25-minute window without running over

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Whakawatea under Scoring Setup, or start from the judge scoring and tabulation guide.

How to prepare for Whakawatea

How entrants and their teachers usually get Whakawatea right on the day:

• Plan the exit route and the order of leaving on paper, then walk it on a marked floor until nobody hesitates
• Rehearse the item after a full run of the earlier six, so the team practises finishing while tired
• Keep the voices up while moving: practise singing the last verse during the walk, not before it
• Choose a clear final line and agree a visible signal for it, so the whole team stops and leaves together
• Time the exit separately and keep a record, because every extra second comes out of the 25-minute set
• Film the departure from the front and from the wings to check spacing and straight lines
• After a regional loss, review a recording of the last minute of the set first, since a weak ending is easy to fix

Frequently asked questions

Is Whakawatea 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.

What does Whakawatea mean in kapa haka?

It is the closing item of the set, the farewell in which the team leaves the stage in song and movement.

Is Whakawatea judged individually or as a team?

As a team. The whole group is scored together out of 100.

How long is a Whakawatea item?

The template sets no separate limit. On the national model, all seven compulsory items together must fit inside 25 minutes.

Can a team leave it out?

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.