Ngā Uri o Te Whanoa are no newcomers to the national stage, and are the third Te Arawa group from six to perform at Pūtaringamotu. Established in 2006, Ngā Uri o Te Whanoa is a tight-knit whānau. The original rōpu was made up of performers from the Maxwell, Mitchell, Grant and Morrison whānau. Since then, a number of other whānau have also joined Ngā Uri o Te Whanoa. The group have been blessed with the teachings of Te Arawa kapa haka stalwarts Trevor Maxwell and his late wife Atareta Maxwell as well as Sir Howard Morrison himself. Ngā Uri o Te Whanoa also acknowledge their links to Ngāti Whakaue and pay homage to their eponymous ancestor Te Whanoa.

Te Matatini 2015. Every two years, Te Matatini organises the Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival, where top kapa haka teams from New Zealand and Australia compete for the honour of being crowned the best of the best. The festival started in 1972 and is now the world’s largest celebration of Māori traditional performing arts, attracting over 30,000 performers, supporters and visitors. The competition is held over four days with 45 teams split into three pools, Te Ihu, Te Haumi and Te Kei. The three teams with the highest combined marks from each pool will compete in the competition finals. The nine finalists are then judged afresh to determine the new Toa Whakaihuwaka - overall agreggate winner. Kapa haka teams are required to perform six disciplines within their performance piece - whakaeke (a choreographed entry), mōteatea (traditional chant), poi (light ball swung on the end of a rope), waiata-ā-ringa (action song), haka and whakawātea (exit). They must perfect every discipline in a polished 30 minute performance.