Ki-O-Rahi is a sport played in Aotearoa with a small round ball called a ki. It is a fast paced game that incorporates skills similar to rugby, netball and touch.

The game of Ki-O-Rahi stems from the māori legend Rahitutakahina and Tiarakurapakewai. Ki-O-Rahi is a unique sport as it originates from a story and demonstrates that the sport is more than a game. It is a tribute to te reo, ancestors and the Māori culture. Ki-O-Rahi is often played during Matariki, the Māori new year. Matariki commences when the Matariki star cluster rises (Pleiades cluster). Tauranga Girls’ College celebrated Matariki at the end of last term through the Māori treasure of Ki-O-Rahi.

Our Tauranga Girls’ College Ki-O-Rahi tournament encouraged fierce rivalry between houses, with junior and senior teams from each house battling for a spot in the school’s finals. Participation, enthusiasm and encouragement were prominent among students as they supported their teams, in attempts to accumulate house points. Given that Ki-O-Rahi isn’t a sport played very often at TGC, it was amazing to see so many girls coming along to learn the rules and try something new. The outstanding turnout from our students throughout the week was so positive to see. After a week of games, Freyberg took out the senior competition and Mansfield dominated the junior one. Freyberg were therefore the overall TGC 2020 Ki-O-Rahi champions, extending their lead as the top house at this stage in the year. The awesome week finished off with a tight game between the Tauranga Girls’ College and the Tauranga Boys’ College prefects. With support from the bleachers full of cheering students, the TGC prefects came away with a victory, one of the first, if not only, wins against the boys. It was definitely a great reward for the prefects and students who had facilitated the smooth and successful running of the competition.