The countdown to Te Matatini 2027, the premiere national haka competition, is on and qualifying haka groups won’t have long to wait to find out the details.
The live draw taking place on Saturday morning will reveal which preliminary pool they will compete in – and the day and time they will perform.
Watch the draw live on 1News.co.nz from 10am on Saturday.
And there are two major changes to this year’s draw and preliminary pool performance schedule.
Next year’s competition will be held on February 23-27, 2027, and hosted by Tainui in Hopuhopu, Waikato.
The event, which was briefly referred to as Tākiri Tū Te Matatini, has been given the name Te Matatini o Ngā Taniwha 2027 – a nod to the host’s tribal proverb ‘he piko he taniwha, Waikato taniwha rau’ (at every bend lies a taniwha, Waikato of the hundred taniwha).
Tomorrow’s one-hour long draw will take place at Tūrangawaewae in Ngāruawāhia, hosted by Te Matatini patron Te Arikinui Kuini Ngawai hono i te po.
The qualifying process
Every two years regional qualifying competitions are held where groups are selected to advance to the following year’s national competition.
Fifty-seven kapa haka have qualified from 13 regions across Aotearoa and Australia this year.
Major change #1 – Top 20 to be seeded
A change from past draws is that the top 20 from the previous Te Matatini in 2025 will be seeded, and of those seeded, they will be in three tiers:
1) The top 12 from Te Mātangirua of Te Matatini 2025
2) The 13th to 16th ranked kapa
3) The 17th to 20th ranked kapa
Additionally, the top 12 will already be allocated into four balanced groupings of three kapa.
These seeded kapa will be spread across the four pools.
The top 12 have previously followed this system, but it will be the first time 13th to 20th are seeded to reduce the chance of highly ranked kapa ending in the same pool.
The remaining 37 kapa will be randomly selected as usual.
A pool will consist of 15 or 14 kapa: three from the top 12, one kapa from each of the two other seeded groupings, and the rest filled by the remaining qualifying kapa.
Major change #2 – Preliminary pools will perform across performance days
In another major change, this time to the preliminary pool layout, performances will now take place across competition days - instead of one performance day assigned to a pool.
There are four preliminary pools: Te Ihu, Te Haumi, Te Kei, and Te Awa. Fifteen kapa will compete in Te Ihu, while the rest of the pools will have 14.
The live draw results will be checked and verified live by independent scrutineers.
According to Te Matatini, the revised draw format has been devised to "strengthen fairness, balance and consistency".
"It recognises previous achievement while giving every kapa the opportunity to perform at their very best on the national stage," it said.
Te Matatini chair Tā Herewini Parata said the live draw marks an important milestone in the lead up to the national competition.
"Qualifying for Te Matatini is an extraordinary achievement, earned through months of dedication, discipline and collective effort.
"The Live Draw marks the moment the festival truly comes to life. For the first time, kapa will see the pathway ahead and discover who they will compete against to reach the finals.”
Te Matatini 2027 line up
The 57 kapa haka competing next year have been confirmed after 13 regional competitions held over a six-month period.
Tākitimu held the first event in February where Te Rangiura o Wairarapa made a near clean sweep of the categories, placing first in all but two. Four kapa are representing the region next year.
Te Taumata o Apanui took first place in the Mātaatua regional qualifier, beating out a fiercely competitive field. Six groups from this region have qualified for Te Matatini 2027.
Te Kāhui Maunga are sending four kapa, including first time regional winners Ngā Purapura o Te Taihauāuru.
A hotly contested Te Arawa regional, and a revised look into results, led to joint winners Te Pikikōtuku o Ngāti Rongomai and Te Matatini 2025 champions Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue leading a delegation of six kapa heading to nationals.
Three kapa from Te Whenua Moemoeā (Australia) will make their way to Aotearoa, including regional winners Te Kahu Ariki.
Te Taitokerau, whose regional competition was impacted by a severe storm that consequently led to the late withdrawal of two groups unable to attend the event, initially saw only three kapa qualifying. But a revision of results meant Te Uri o Manumanu will be joining Muriwhenua, Hātea Kapa Haka, and Te Kapa Haka o Waerenga Te Kaha in Hopuhopu next year.
Longstanding Rangitāne regional champions Te Tū Mataora is returning to Te Matatini alongside Te Tini a Rehua and Te Whirikōkō o Rangitāne.
Te Pou o Mangatāwhiri will lead a six-kapa strong Tainui contingent to represent the host region.
Viral haka group Te Kuru Marutea and veteran group Kia Ngāwari are heading north from Te Tauihu.
Te Tairāwhiti is sending four groups to nationals, including defending regional champions and one of the longest standing haka groups in the country, Waihīrere.
Tāmaki Makaurau, a third region hit with a revised results decision that saw second and third place-getters swap, is sending six kapa haka to Hopuhopu, led by Angitu.
Waitaha is experiencing huge growth in kapa haka, sending five groups up north, led by regional champions Te Ahikaaroa.
Te Whanganui a Tara also saw an unprecedented growth – a record 13 competed in their regional competition – with debutante group Te Kapa Haka o Pukeatua taking it out on their first appearance. An overall four groups qualified from the capital.
The draw is live on 1News.co.nz and Whakaata Māori from 10am on Saturday.
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