This article was first published by RNZ
A kaupapa Māori CrossFit competition is giving whānau a space where te reo Māori and functional fitness go hand-in-hand, with the event growing stronger every year.
Mātātoa, now in its fourth year, took place over the weekend in Kirkiriroa Hamilton at Claudelands Events Centre.
It was founded by triplets Eru, Heemi and Tipene Kapa-Kingi, who wanted to combine their love for te reo Māori with their dedication to fitness and hauora.
The kaupapa is now spearheaded by brother and sister duo, Whatanui Flavell and Matangiroa Flavell.
Eru Kapa-Kingi said while Mātātoa was competitive, the kaupapa had always been more than that.
“Tēnei kaupapa, e rua o ngā aronga, ko te reo Māori, ko te ora o te reo Māori. Kātahi, kā rua ko te ora o te tinana o te tangata, me ngā taha katoa o te hauora, te hinengaro, te whānau, te hononga,” he told RNZ.
This kaupapa has two focuses, the Māori language, the wellbeing and survival of the Māori language. Secondly, the wellbeing of people’s bodies, along with all aspects of health, the mind, family, and relationships.
He said Mātātoa was about celebrating wellbeing in all its forms.
“This is a fitness comp, but it’s more than that actually. It’s about our oranga generally,” he said.
“It’s a kaupapa that’s i runga i te oranga, kia hui tahi ngā wehenga katoa, ngā hau e whā o ngā iwi Māori, otirā ngā tauiwi, te iwi Tangata Tiriti hoki.”
It’s a kaupapa based on wellbeing, to bring together all groups, the four winds of te iwi Māori, as well as tauiwi and Tangata Tiriti.
Kapa-Kingi said the whakataetae is an opportunity to come together on a positive note and for a “positive cause for health”.
The ingoa ‘Mātātoa’ itself also carried weight.
“Mātātoa is another kupu for competition, te whakatatae, but it’s also, kei roto i tērā kupu, ko te toa,” Kapa-Kingi said.
Within that word also is the idea of being a champion, a warrior, a winner.
“Being a toa means, achieving and striving in all ways, not just physical fitness, but being a toa as a pāpā, being a toa as a māmā, as a Ngāpuhi, as a Waikato, all of those things.”
The kaupapa was split into five different sections, Taiohi (Teens), Pakeke (Masters), Tauhou (Beginners), Tauwaenga (Intermediate) and Tautōhito (RX).
Athletes would compete in pairs, taking part in four different wero (challenges), or workouts.
Each wero in the competition carried its own kaupapa, reflecting the history and identity of Waikato-Tainui - this year’s host of the whakataetae.
The first WOD, workout of the day, Wero 1, ‘Te Papanui’ set the scene for the whenua the athletes were competing on.
“The whenua that Claudelands Event Centre stands on is Te Papanui. A significant whenua for the people of Ngāti Wairere and other iwi,” organisers said.
“This whenua was used to prepare for battle... Te Papanui is preparing us for the wero of Day 2.”
Due to popular demand and high registration of numbers, the kaupapa was extended to two days, instead of one.
The second workout, Wero 2, ‘Toonuitanga’ celebrated a time of abundance.
“Our early arrival quickly saw us disperse across the rohe, growing food sources, establishing kāinga and eventually embedding ourselves as the indigenous peoples of this land,” organisers said.
Embedded in the workout were dates and times marking periods when their people thrived on the whenua.
“Me hoki rā tātou ki te toonuitanga, may we return there,” they said.
Wero 3, ‘Rautapu’, shone a light on one of the darker chapters in Waikato’s history.
“Eighteen sixty-three marked the beginning of the invasion of Waikato. Millions of acres were lost. Stolen. Confiscated. The generational impact of these actions continues today,” organisers said.
“I tēnei wero, ka whakaarohia ngā tūpuna i tū ki ngā pakanga maha o Waikato.”
Te wero whakamutunga mō Mātātoa, the last challenge, ‘Ka Ora Tonu’ closed the day with a rallying cry to “give everything we have left,” to “full send” and “leave nothing behind”.
“‘Ka whawhai tonu mātou’ was the karanga put out there by Rewi Maniapoto during the battle of Ōrākau. Over time, it has been a rallying cry for protest movements across the motu.
“Last year, during the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti, Hana [Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke] inspired thousands when she shared her frustration with always fighting. She encouraged us instead to shift our focus, from fighting to surviving.”
Organisers said they were also inspired by the first kauhau of Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, who said being Māori was not defined by having an enemy or a challenge to overcome.
Across Aotearoa, Māori were increasingly getting involved with CrossFit, with many whānau across the motu opening up their own gyms.
Kapa-Kingi said the sport was proving a natural fit for Māori.
“We’re pretty good at it... ō tātou pūkenga Māori, athleticism, rhythm, all of those things, strength, those feed well into the sport.
“There’s also heroes like Hikooterangi Curtis, who’s showing us at the top level that we can do it. Every year it just grows bigger and bigger.”
Curtis was a name well-known in the world of CrossFit. In 2021 he placed third in the world in the 16 to 17-year-old age bracket at the World CrossFit Games in LA, and he continued to represent Aotearoa internationally.
Reflecting on the year, and that kōrero, Kapa-Kingi said reclaiming spaces of hauora was as important as ever.
“Despite all of the political challenges of this time, we shouldn’t relinquish and stop doing these kaupapa ora that we’ve been doing and that are only growing, because this is the stuff that builds our Hawaiki Hou.”
He said it was important to have positive kaupapa, with whānau and hauora at the centre.
“It’s about generational driving and developing in all ways te reo Māori, our culture. That stuff never stops.”
By Layla Bailey-McDowell of RNZ
