Who has been crowned champions of the National Secondary Schools Kapa Haka Competition? That was the question of the hour as the nation awaited the announcement of the aggregate winners.
Rākaumangamanga won the awards for the entry, mōteatea and te reo. Te Puku o te Ika also won the mōteatea as well as the exit, The awards for the action song and haka were won by two schools from the Auckland region, Waiorea and Hoani Waititi. Te Rōpu Raukura received frist place for the poi.
In the non-aggregate section, there were two winners for the choral. Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ngati Kahungunu ki Heretaunga won the award for best female leader, and Te Rōpu Manāki won the award for best male leader.
Overall, Ngā Puna o Waiorea placed third, second place went to Te Rōpu Raukura, and the champions of the National Secondary School Kapa Haka Competition for 2014 were Rākaumangamanga.
It seems the inclusion of a finals round at the National Secondary Schools Competition has been a success. Both viewers and competitors have agreed that the addition has added value to the competition. For the performers of the nine finalist groups, there is a sense of pride and humility that they are the ones paving the way in this innovation to competitive Kapa Haka.