Latest news with #Whai
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Auckland's Silo Park light exhibition mirrors Māori string game
The work was first commissioned by Auckland Council Public Art for Matariki ki te Manawa in 2024. Now, it has been made larger and occupies a more prominent space with 360-degree views across the city and Waitematā Harbour from the Gantry. The light loops play on the traditional weaving forms of the string game. 'Whai keeps Māori traditions alive, a shared experience that bridges cultures, ensuring they remain vibrant and celebrated for generations to come,' Williams said. She wanted the work to invite people to immerse themselves in the game. 'For centuries, Māori children have played and become skilled at whai, learning complex patterns and the stories behind them. Through connection, creation, and discovery, Whai offers everyone that learning experience - bringing people together through the joy of making.' In 2022, Williams studied full immersion te reo Māori at Te Wānanga Takiura and continues to study part-time. Williams is a mother, business owner and is in her final year of an Executive Master of Business Administration at Massey University and Master of Professional Creative Practice at Toihoukura. She often works alongside her husband, Charles Williams, to create brightly coloured, large-scale murals honouring kaupapa Māori. Many of their works include vivid depictions of New Zealand's native birds in flight. They also have a strong interest in graffiti art, with the pair decorating vans, walls and even motorway underpasses around Auckland. Auckland Council said Silo Park was chosen as this year's temporary site for Whai as the precinct strongly reflected the waterfront's heritage. 'The regeneration of Wynyard Quarter acknowledges its place on the edge of the Waitematā, retaining elements of the area's industrial history.' Over the next three to five years, during the Matariki season, Auckland Council Public Art will exhibit Whai in different locations. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Fighting for place on and off court
Otago Nuggets. PHOTO: ODT FILES The Otago Nuggets are battling. And not all of those battles are on the court. Tonight's fixture against the Tauranga Whai is their last home game of the season. Let's hope it is not their last home game for a much longer period. The Nuggets have been on notice since their owner signalled its intention to pull out at the end of the National Basketball League campaign. Despite an optimistic press release from the NBL earlier this month hailing a new era of ownership for the Nuggets, their return next season is far from a done deal. The Otago Daily Times understands there is still a lot of work to be done to keep the playing licence in Dunedin. There are some very passionate people behind the bid, but there are no guarantees they will be able to pull it off. The Nuggets (2-15) face a huge challenge on the court as well. They were steamrolled by the Canterbury Rams in their last outing. The 113-59 loss was the heaviest loss in their history. It eclipsed the 47-point drubbing they suffered at the hands of the Southland Sharks in 2013. They are also 13 games into a losing streak. The club famously lost 33 in a row between 2008 and 2011. The 59 points they mustered against the Rams was among the most unproductive nights on offence in their history as well. The 54 they scored against Auckland in 2006 and the Nelson Giants in 2003 remains their lowest score. The Nuggets have really battled on defence this year. That improved when they cut import Jose Perez. But what they gained at one end, they lost at the other. He was good for 20 points most nights. Jonathan Janssen has stepped up on offence in the absence of Perez. Don Carey jun is capable of some big scoring nights but he has been inconsistent in the Nuggets singlet, while fellow American Jaylen Sebree has not made the impact the club would have expected. The Whai (7-10) are in a tense struggle to make the final six. They have dropped their past three games, which has not helped. The 103-77 loss to the Saints on Saturday was a painful experience, so they will be eager to bounce back. Dunedin-born Mojave King, son of Nuggets great Leonard King, shapes as a major scoring threat and the Whai also lean on Kruz Perrott-Hunt and Anzac Rissetto.
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Secondary School basketball: Aquinas College wins nationals
Wade said the team had forged an unbreakable, unbeaten bond in their three-on-three season. Wade said that he, Kaumoana, and Flavell tasted success last year, winning the same tournament but losing one game in the previous year's tournament. 'But then we went on to win.' Wade and Kaumoana were selected for the tournament All-Star roster, Wade said. Kaumoana became the go-to scorer for the team, netting 92 points and being named MVP for the tournament. 'We just started throwing the ball to Kaumoana, and he would get us the points to win.' Three-on-three is a quicker, more offensive style of basketball with no coach present. Teams need to net 21 points or have the highest score before the final whistle, and the game has a shorter shot clock, Wade said. 'You don't have as much time to think.' Flavell, Kaumoana, and Wade play on the Tauranga Whai basketball team, where they learn to play with other athletes of different ages and ethnicities. 'It is pretty competitive,' he said. The Whai are now in their second season and are slowly building a fan base, Wade said. Wade said the boys make up the Aquinas College five-on-five side and are single-A national champions. The boys kept to a strict twice-a-week training schedule between their training for the five-a-side squad, he said. Flavell, Kaumoana, and Wade have played together on the same team since Year 10 and described their play as having a 'telepathy' to it. 'We knew what each other was thinking on the court,' Wade said. Single-A competition includes schools with fewer than 500 students, and this year, the team will face off against some of the largest double-A schools, Wade said. After this season, the three seniors will hand over the reins to Workman, who started playing basketball competitively a year ago. Wade said he is confident that Workman will be able to carry on the legacy of the current team and that he needs to find the right players. 'Bring them up to like your level and push each other,' Wade said. The talent and dedication of the Aquinas basketball students was remarkable, principal Matt Dalton said. 'Schools of our size shouldn't be competing for national titles. We're competing at schools in the thousands, where we're in the hundreds,' Dalton said.
NZ Herald
23-04-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
New era, familiar face: Tauranga Whai appoint new head coach for 2025 season
Tauranga's professional women's basketball team has a new head coach — and it's a familiar face. The Whai franchise has turned to Tane Bennett, who already knows the ins and outs of the 2024 championship-winning team having previously coached in a different role. The Tauranga local will coach the Whai for the upcoming Tauihi league 2025 season, a statement from the team said. Bennett started in the Whai academy, which led to roles assisting in the local league's women's and men's teams. He has been head coach of the Whai Rapid League, a standalone competition with shorter 16-minute games that are played before regular-season Tauihi games.
