With only 4 groups who competed in Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka Kapa Haka Regionals, Te Whatukura is the only Nelson-based haka group to qualify for Te Matatini. Te Whatukura haka club have not only been perfecting their performance but the group, like many others across the nation, has been actively training to become “Haka Fit” in preparation for Te Matatini. The group is tutored by Tom Alesana, Tiana Alesana, Aaron Tamepō, Āwhina Kihi and Wayne Hippolite, and was formed from former secondary school students in their region, hence their original name, Ngā Kura. Their main purpose is to help kapa haka thrive amongst their youth, and to teach them the ways of old. This year, they pay homage to their matriarch Edna Puananī Hippolite who passed away in 2013.

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.