The country’s best secondary school haka groups have arrived in Tauranga Moana, ready to take centre stage at this year’s Ngā Kapa Haka Kura Tuarua o Aotearoa competition.

The week-long whakataetae (competition) officially opened with a pōwhiri on Monday, with 42 rōpū from across Aotearoa preparing to compete over three days of pool performances before the top nine finalists return to the stage on Friday.

Turei Kire, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga kaiako, said 2026 would be a defining year for kapa haka.

“I feel like this specific year for kapa haka is going to be quite a transcending year for haka in general, right across the board.”

The rōpū travelled five hours from Heretaunga (Hastings) to Tauranga alongside its tauira, kaiako and whānau supporters. They are staying at Hūria Marae of the iwi Ngāti Ranginui, before their performance on Wednesday evening.

Kire said he was looking forward to seeing what each rōpū had created after months of preparation.

“I’m excited to see what all the kapa have done ... Because we know the mahi that’s required to build that succession and that excellence that we are all after.

“Now that we’re here in Tauranga, we can really lavish in the ambience of our ancestral lands and enjoy our time.”

Kire said each stand reflected the collective effort of an entire school community.

“Ka mau te wehi ngā mahi whakaritenga o tēnā, o tēnā o te whānau o tō mātau kapa.

Pērā tonu ki ngā kapa huri noa i te motu he nui ngā mahi e tutuki ai tēnei mīhini e kīa nei ko te haka, mō te tūpono ka hari ka koa ngā tamariki, ka hari ka koa hoki mātau ngā kaiako, kauaka noaiho mō te rua tekau mineti engari mō te nuinga o te terenga.”

“The preparation of each of the whānau of this group has been awesome.

“Just like all the other groups around the country there is a lot of work to feed this machine called kapa haka and hopefully the kids will be happy and proud of their performance and that us the teachers will be too, not just for twenty minutes [on stage] but for this whole season.”

Student Waitiria Konia Keil said the moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

“Kua tae te wā, kua roa nei mātau e tatari ana kia tū ki runga i tēnei papatūwaewae ki Tauranga Moana. The time has come. We’ve been waiting a long time to perform on this stage in Tauranga.”

To her, haka is “everything”.

“Ko te ao haka taku ao.”

“Kapa haka is my world.”

Kire said fundraising, travel, kai preparation and the support of whānau were all essential to getting a kapa to the national stage.

“Like every other kapa, it’s a machine. Having whānau support, having that community with you, makes all the difference,” he said.

“Kāore e ārikarika ngā mihi ki ngā whānau o tō mātau kura, ka mutu ngā ringaringa me ngā waewae o tō tātau kaupapa e tutuki ai, e tutuki ai tēnei kaupapa.”

“There aren’t enough tributes that can capture the work that the families of our school do to support this group.”

Te Tāwharau o Ngā Waka, the National Secondary Schools Kapa Haka Competition, will take place from June 30 - July 3, 2026 at Mercury Baypark, Tauranga.

All performances will be streamed on MĀORI+.

RNZ