The Hauraki Games are returning to Paeroa Domain after a five-year hiatus, and it’s set to be a powerful day of sport, culture and connection.
Formerly known as the Hauraki Pā Wars, this year’s games will be the first held since Covid-19.
And for the return of the event, the focus is squarely on the theme of whanaungatanga – connection through shared kinship.
Event chairman Rino Wilkinson said the aim of the inter-marae, inter-iwi event was to foster and encourage togetherness, wellness, and iwi pride through friendly competition.
“Hauraki Games is about bringing our people together,” he said.
“It’s about connection, identity, movement and creating positive spaces for our tamariki and whānau.
“When we gather at Te Puru o Te Rangi (Paeroa Domain), we celebrate who we are as Hauraki.”
More than 2000 people from 20 marae across the wider Hauraki region are expected to attend the games – as both competitors, supporters and spectators.
The competition events include netball, touch, softball, bowls, tug-of-war, euchre, Top Town Tamariki Games, Kaumātua Games, and Tapu Āriki.
Intergenerational participation was also a large part of the ethos of the games, Rino said, with the rules requiring at least one kaumātua (elder) and one tamaiti (child) on each team for many of the events.
“For me personally, the main thing aside from the whanaungatanga is that there aren’t many sports around where you can have grandparents participate alongside their grandchild,” he said.
“So if you’re playing softball or something, you can get the old fella to go up there, hit it off, and the little mokopuna can run.
“It’s that interactive stuff.”
The Hauraki Games will open with the various marae marching through the domain, followed by a mass haka before the beginning of competition at 9am.
DETAILS: Hauraki Games, March 21, 7am-5pm at the Paeroa Domain. Free entry; spectators welcome. See www.facebook.com/HaurakiGames for more.
