Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei will accompany Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) to Naples, Italy, to attend an America’s Cup ceremony marking the next phase of the competition.
For more than 30 years, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has stood alongside ETNZ as iwi manaaki, a relationship both parties say has contributed to the team’s global success.
“Our relationship with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei adds huge value and mana to the team, with our collective pride and culture on the world stage when we compete overseas,” says ETNZ CEO Grant Dalton.
ETNZ are the current defending champions of the America’s Cup, the world’s oldest sporting trophy, following their victory at the 37th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup in Barcelona in 2024.
A Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei contingent travelled with the team to Spain for the event.
“As everyone saw in Barcelona, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei were there to take us into battle each day by leading us out to the racecourse in their waka,” Dalton says.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei’s Otene Hopa says this presence may be the secret to Team New Zealand’s success.
“Koirā pea te kurahuna i eke ai a Team Emirates New Zealand anō ki taua taumata e toru wā,” Hopa adds.
“Their presence in Spain created massive interest in our team, our country and our culture as well as generating immense pride for the thousands of Kiwi supporters over there,” Dalton says.
Te kōtuitanga - he hononga pūmau
The relationship was first established more than 30 years ago by the Taumata of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and has continued across generations.
Hopa says, “Nā ō mātau pāpā, ō mātau uncles i te wā i a Sir Peter Blake mā, tēnā whakahoahoatanga i tīmata, anā, kua taka iho mai tēnā whanaungatanga ki runga ki ngā whakareanga o nāianei.”
In October 2023, the relationship was formalised through a kōtuitanga partnership, setting out shared values, roles, and opportunities in Aotearoa and internationally, including collaboration to build Māori capability through ETNZ-supported academies, programmes, internships, and joint innovation and Taiao sustainability initiatives.
He whakaū i ngā taura here tangata
Grant Dalton, a former world champion sailor and long-time leader of ETNZ, says the relationship is unique in nature.
In a statement to Te Ao Māori News, he says,
“For many years, Emirates Team New Zealand has had a very long-standing, close and proud relationship with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, which contributes a huge amount to the rich culture of the team both at home in New Zealand and abroad.”
“Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei have blessed and named a number of our America’s Cup race boats over many campaigns, including Aoteroa, which won in Bermuda in 2017, Te Rehutai, which won on our home waters here in Auckland in 2021, and of course Taihoro, which won in Barcelona in 2024.”
Hopa also acknowledges Dalton and ETNZ’s commitment to maintaining the partnership and to te ao Māori.
“Koia te mea kua ngana nei ki te pupuri i ērā taura here,” he says.
“Nō roto i tēnā whanaungatanga kua tino tupu tōna hiahia ki te manaaki i te wāhi ki te tangata whenua, ki te whakauru i te āhuatanga, ko te ahurea Māori, ki roto i ngā tikanga whakahaere o te tīma.”
Kawea i runga i te ngākau pono, i te ngākau Māori
Reflecting on his time with the Barcelona contingent, Hopa says the iwi felt genuinely welcomed and included by ETNZ, and that the response from the wider team and whānau to kaupapa Māori has been positive.
Hopa says the team works hard to incorporate tikanga into its systems and processes, not just for show.
“Kaua anahe ki ngā karakia, kaua anahe mō te marea hei mātakitaki, engari he aha ērā mātāpono e taea te whakaū ki roto i tā rātau tīma.”
“He tino hiahia nō rātau te whakauru i tērā wairua Māori, tērā wairua taketake o Aotearoa, ki roto i [a rātau mahi].”
But how are such partnerships kept genuine, and how is tokenism avoided?
“Me he pono ngā mahi e tuku nei e mātou o Ngāti Whātua. E whakapae ana, ā, ka pono hoki te kaupapa e manaakitia ana e mātau.”
The ceremony, taking place on January 21, brings together all America’s Cup teams as they begin the collective journey toward Naples 2027.
