Cultural & Folk Festival · Asia-Pacific
New Zealand secondary schools kapa haka, with the seven compulsory disciplines and the festival special awards.
Sets up a New Zealand secondary schools kapa haka competition in the style of the national format: seven compulsory scored items, one optional waiata tira, 100 marks an item and a ready-made list of special awards.
Kapa haka is the Maori performing art that combines song, haka, poi and action song, and a kapa (team) performs a continuous programme in te reo Maori. This template rebuilds the structure of the national kapa haka competition for secondary schools, so a coordinator opens an event that already has the real item list and the real scoring pattern instead of an empty catalogue.
The template carries eight items, all team entries in Maori. Seven are the compulsory items that determine a team’s placing: Whakaeke (the entrance), Moteatea (traditional chant), Waiata a-ringa (action song), Poi, Haka, Whakawatea (the closing farewell) and Te Kairangi o Te Mita o Te Reo, which judges the delivery of te reo across the programme. The eighth, Waiata Tira, is optional and does not count towards the aggregate; it is a choral item with its own four-minute limit and a warning at three minutes.
There is a single group, Kura Tuarua (secondary school), set to team entries and ages 13 to 18. The national rules the template follows score each aggregate item out of 100 marks using five judges: the highest and lowest marks are dropped and the middle three averaged. Awards that sit outside the aggregate are judged by three judges whose marks are added together. All seven compulsory items must fit inside one 25-minute performance window, and a team that overruns loses points.
Teams qualify through regional competitions, register in advance and lodge their full lyrics before a deadline, which is why this suits a coordinator-run event. The placings are First (Tarewa), Second and Third, with an overall champion title and a set of special awards: male and female leader, costume, four new-composition awards for the chant, action song, poi and haka, a new song composition award and a written reo award. One caution: the secondary schools event does not publish its own rules, so this template follows the national structure it mirrors, and the 13 to 18 age range is not verified for secondary schools specifically. Check both against your own regional rules before you open registration.
Where this event comes from
Kapa haka grew from the performing traditions of Maori communities, where song, chant and haka carried history and genealogy, and it became a school and community competition art in New Zealand during the twentieth century.
Where this event is run
New Zealand, where secondary school kapa haka teams prepare through regional competitions before a national final. This template follows the New Zealand national format only. It suits a regional school kapa haka competition, a cluster of schools running a shared event, or a school that wants to rehearse the national scoring pattern before its teams travel.
- New Zealand (secondary school kapa haka, regional and national)
Key facts
- 8 items, all team entries in te reo Maori: 7 compulsory scored items and 1 optional item
- Each compulsory item is marked out of 100 by five judges, highest and lowest marks dropped and the middle three averaged
- All seven compulsory items must fit inside a single 25-minute window; Waiata Tira has its own four-minute limit with a warning at three minutes
- One group, Kura Tuarua, for secondary school teams aged 13 to 18 (age range not verified for secondary schools specifically)
- Placings First (Tarewa), Second and Third, plus an overall champion title and special awards for leaders, costume, new compositions and written reo
- Teams normally qualify regionally, register in advance and lodge lyrics before the deadline
- Age groups
- 1
- Competition items
- 8
- Competitions
- 8
- Grade bands
- 0
- Rank awards
- 13
Age groups
Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.
Kura Tuarua
Candidates aged 13 to 18 compete in this group
Competition items
The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.
Competitions by group
The full schedule matrix, sectioned by age group then category — which item runs for whom, and for how long.
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kura Tuarua | |||||
| On Stage | |||||
| Item | Type | Gender | Language | Max score | Time limit |
| Whakaeke | Team | — | Maori | 100 | — |
| Moteatea | Team | — | Maori | 100 | — |
| Waiata a-ringa | Team | — | Maori | 100 | — |
| Poi | Team | — | Maori | 100 | — |
| Haka | Team | — | Maori | 100 | — |
| Whakawatea | Team | — | Maori | 100 | — |
| Te Kairangi o Te Mita o Te Reo | Team | — | Maori | 100 | — |
| Waiata Tira (Optional) | Team | — | Maori | 100 | 4 min |
Grades and ranks
How scores turn into grade bands, and how many points each placing is worth.
| Rank | For | Points |
|---|---|---|
| First (Tarewa) | 10 | |
| Second | 6 | |
| Third | 3 | |
| Te Toa Whakaihuwaka (Overall Champion) | 12 | |
| Manukura Tane (Male Leader) | 4 | |
| Manukura Wahine (Female Leader) | 4 | |
| Kakahu (Costume) | 3 | |
| Titonga Hou - Moteatea (New Composition) | 3 | |
| Titonga Hou - Waiata a Ringa (New Composition) | 3 | |
| Titonga Hou - Poi (New Composition) | 3 | |
| Titonga Hou - Haka (New Composition) | 3 | |
| Titonga Waiata Hou (New Song Composition) | 3 | |
| Te Kairangi o Te Reo a-tuhi (Written Reo) | 3 |
Frequently asked questions
Can I change this template after installing it?
Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.
Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?
No. Installing a template does the setup work for you; you only need to review the details (dates, unit or house names) and open registration.
Want the fuller picture first? See our guide to judge scoring and tabulation software.
Install this template in eTalenter
Everything above is installed as a live, editable event in one step — age groups, items, rules and scoring. Start your own below.
