Ki-o-Rahi: More Than Just a Game

Three teams of Wairakei students wanted to see how well they could work as a team at a sport where no one had any experience, Ki-o-Rahi. In a sport that promotes teamwork, communication, inclusion, and strategy, would Wairakei students rise to the occasion or crumble in frustration? Would they be able to identify the strengths in each other to help them unite as a team? After one Kiwisport lesson at school, they were off to the Tāupo Ki-o-Rahi Festival to find out.

A Version of Ki-o-Rahi Origins

To many Māori, Ki-o-Rahi is more than just a game because it remembers their ancestors, culture, and worldview. Ki-o-Rahi is named after a Māori legend where a fierce warrior named Rahitūtakahina (Rahi), with the help of others, rescued his wife, Tīarakurapakewai, from an enemy tribe. He had to overcome many obstacles, including dark magic that created a giant forest designed to trap him, a second sun to drain him of energy, and a taniwha created to destroy him. Before conflict escalated, Rahi stepped forward and declared there would be no more fighting, believing too many lives had already been lost in the past. Instead, he thought that a game would be a better way of solving disputes, so he and his foes created Ki-o-Rahi, with the game design reflecting their battle.

A Simplified Version of How to Play

There are 2 ways to score. When a team are taniwhas, players must work together in an outer zone to get a ball past defenders to their taniwha in a safe zone inner ring. These taniwha score by throwing the ball through the inner zone and hitting a barrel being protected by the two opposing players in the kioma (ball carriers) team. When watching this part of the game, it’s easy to visualise Rahi fending off boulders thrown at him by the taniwha when he is trapped on an island against a rock.

When the ball carriers have the ball, they are trying to touch as many pou (boundary markers) as possible in the outer zone for points. Their points become safe when they score a try in the taniwha safe zone. All players wear rippa belts and tags. Ripping off someone’s tag means players either need to pass the ball or hand it over to the other team, depending on the nature of the rip.

At the Festival

First games for all teams were a learning curve. The Wairakei Thunder team played first and won. After their game, Liam and Ben said, as barrel defenders, they tried having one blocker up close to the thrower, like a basketball guard. Ben said this would make it harder for the taniwha to get a clear view of the barrel to hit it and score. He explained that he, as the closest blocker to the barrel, stood with his legs close together so the ball couldn’t get through to its target.

In future games, the Wairakei Thunder did better at recognising and utilising the strengths in all their players. Max and Callan thought their faster players should be the main ball carriers, as they needed to be fast to avoid defenders. The team needed stronger taniwha to throw through defenders to hit the barrel and score points. Ben and Liam volunteered, believing their basketball experience had strengthened their throwing skills. Liam and Ben were superstars at hitting the barrels. When asked how they were so successful, Ben said that Liam would fake and do a throw over to him to get the defenders moving. Ben would then get the ball and throw it side-on so it would hit the side of the barrel and force defenders to move away from the centre of it. Liam tried different techniques, and his teammates were often pleading with their team manager to keep Liam in that position because he was so good.

The Wairakei Storm did well to win their first game. They had effective communication. When discussing what they needed to improve on, Devon mentioned that the boys needed to share the ball with the girls. Cameron thought everyone should pass the ball sooner before they had too many defenders on them. He said this would help the passing be more accurate. Max suggested that touching less pou for fewer points would be better than trying to touch too many pou for more points and losing them.

In their other games, everyone responded to past discussions to improve their game. Teammates listened to Cameron’s feedback and passed the ball earlier, so there was less pressure on the passer. Devon was pleased that everyone was passing the ball to the best person in a position to score or keep the ball alive, rather than just passing it to their friends. The Wairakei Storm won two out of their three pool games but just missed out on the quarterfinals based on a lower points for and against record.

The Wairakei POWER team was strategic from the start, watching the first game to help them decide upon player roles. May and Spencer said they’d make good barrel defenders to save points because they play goalie for football. Kian suggested May and Spencer could stand one in front of the other to create two shields that the ball would have to get past to score. This worked well as the POWER comfortably won their first game.

For their next game, when touching pou to get points, Micah suggested making better choices of who to pass to. Leela added they needed to take more time and look around to see who is free from defenders. After the game, Kian thought they did well not to get too greedy and try to get too many points just to lose them. As a defender, Mia was happy with how she defended. She said that falling on the ball on the ground helped control it from escaping from her defensive circle and stopped her from losing balance and falling into the wrong zone.

The POWER team continued with their winning ways. They constantly reflected on their performance and were flexible in how they adapted their game plan based on who they were playing. Mea, May, and Leela defended exceptionally well all day and would easily have saved at least 30 points with their blocked shots. They won their 3 pool games and quarter-final against Taupo Primary before losing in the semifinal to Tauhara A in a competitive game. Tauhara was just a better team of the day, with more experience and more advanced strategies. They went on to easily win the final by about 18 points.

If the success of the Wairakei teams was judged on how well students worked as  teams through communication, problem-solving, and strategising, then all the Wairakei teams are winners. They learnt a new game, improved physical skills, and came away with a better understanding of what successful teamwork looks like and feels like.