Thursday, October 5, 2017
Ross McCullough
THE annual Muriwai Tournament is on again this weekend.
The tournament kicks off today with the children’s basketball starting at 9am at Opotiki College.
The adults’ basketball is at 5pm at the college.
Tomorrow is Tamariki Day, starting at 10am at Memorial Park and at 5pm there is the kapa haka competition, also at Memorial Park.
The senior rugby and netball will be played on Saturday with the netball finals played the same day.
Sunday is the finals day for senior rugby.
The tournament, commonly referred to as Pa Wars, is in its 36th year and celebrates the connection of participants with the Maori ancestress Muriwai.
The tournament aims to promote whanaungatanga (shared experiences and connection), which celebrates harmonious relationships and wellbeing.
It is also the one time of the year that people return to Opotiki to support their whanau.
Fewer people have registered for this year’s tournament than last year, which was a big year with three times the entries of 2015.
However, organisers expect it to be a very successful sporting and social encounter.