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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ABOUT US

Kaumātua / Founders

Founder Kuia: Kararaina Blake (Whakatū)

Tāne Founder Kaumātua: Utu Parore

Delegates / Kaunihera

Wikitoria Burdon (Ōtepoti), Hitaua Arahanga-Doyle (Ōtepoti) 

2026/27 Komiti

Chairperson Hitaua Arahanga-Doyle 

Delegate Wikitoria Burdon 

Treasurer Harry Macgregor 

Administrator | Secretary  Tania Ambrosius   

Coordinator Manager Angel (Ben) Chorley 

Rangatahi Advocate Olivia Dyer 

Contact us...

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of Te Waipounamu Māori Hockey (Te Haupoi Māori o Te Waipounamu) are to:

  1. Provide inclusive opportunities for people of Māori descent to participate in hockey, regardless of age, ability or gender.

  2. Promote and celebrate Māori culture through participation in hockey.

  3. Encourage the growth and development of hockey throughout Aotearoa, supporting the wider Māori community.

  4. Ensure each Rohe has the opportunity to host the National Māori Hockey Tournament on a rotational basis.


HISTORY

Māori Hockey tournaments, in general, were prevalent throughout the 40s, 50s and 60s, often held on the East Coast of the North Island throughout the Bay of Plenty and in the Waikato Maniapoto district. When the number dwindled, national women’s hockey representative, coach and “mother of Māori hockey”, Margaret Hiha (Ngati Rangitihi, Te Arawa) decided to push the revitalisation of Māori involvement in hockey and established a National Hockey Tournament.

The inaugural tournament was held in Napier in 1992 and hosted by the people of the Takitimu Waka region. Tournaments have been held annually and hosted by each of the Māori Hockey Districts (except the South Island) and are determined by the Māori Land Court boundaries.

According to the 2006 Census, the Māori population in the region was just over 65,000, representing 11.6 per cent of the total New Zealand Māori population.

The national tournament is held annually over Labour weekend and is an official listing on the NZ Hockey Federation calendar of events.

Source: "www.tournament.wmh.maori.nz/home/about/"

Māori and Hockey: More than a game - by Dylan Thomas (Raukawa, Hauraki)