18 March 2015

40th Anniversary of ASB Polyfest starts today

The 40th Anniversary the ASB Polyfest starts today with a special flag raising ceremony and powhiri at the Manukau Sports Bowl.

The iconic event has grown from humble beginnings in 1976 when four schools took part - Seddon High School (now Western Springs College), Aorere College, Mangere College and Hillary College (now Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate), to becoming the largest Maori & Pacific Island festival in the world.

This year’s ASB Polyfest sees 214 performance groups from 64 schools taking to one of the festival’s six stages, to perform speeches, kapa haka and traditional Pacific dance.

A special flag-raising ceremony at 7am and the Powhiri at 8am will open 40th Anniversary of the Festival. The powhiri sees the festival guests (manuhiri) welcomed by the hosts (Tainui & Pacific Island leaders), and a mass haka performed by the festival’s Kura Matua School (host of the Maori Stage) - Western Springs College. Special guests at this year’s Powhiri include Mayor Len Brown and the Minister for Pacific Peoples – Peseta Sam Lotu-liga.

Following the official part of the day, the Manukau Sports Bowl will come alive with Maori & Pacific Island colour and culture. During the festival’s four-day duration, over 10,000 Auckland students will proudly perform kapa haka and traditional Pacific dance, while competing for the honour of being the best school group.

In looking at the role that the festival plays for secondary school students, Event Director Theresa Howard said – “the ASB Polyfest provides the opportunity for students and their school communities to come together early in the school year, to learn and share their ideas on interpretation of culture through song, speech and dance.”

In reflecting on the festival’s 40th Anniversary, Theresa Howard said “it has been amazing to see the festival grow from a one host school model, to now a six host school model, from four schools performing, to now sixty four schools performing.”

ASB has been the naming rights sponsor for the majority of the festival’s history. ASB’s Head of Community and Sponsorship, Mark Graham said - “At ASB we strive to embrace diversity across all areas of our business. ASB has been a proud supporter of ASB Polyfest for over 30 years and we are thrilled to have seen the festival grow from small beginnings to become an important celebration of Auckland’s many diverse cultural communities.”

The first day of the ASB Polyfest 2015 sees the Te Whare Wanaga o Awanuiarangi Maori Stage host fourteen school kapa haka groups from 10am – 6pm. Entries has increased to such a degree that today the stage schedule starts earlier than in past years, and the powhiri has been reduced in length.

The other stages in action today are the University of Auckland Samoan Stage and Massey University Tongan Stage with their speech competitions. This year’s topic for the Pacific Stages is based around the prevention of Rheumatic Fever, and is entitled the “Fight the Fever Speech Competition”. Students on the Tongan, Samoan, Cook Islands and Niue Stages are asked to speak in the native language, addressing the following questions -

Year 9 and 10 (Juniors)

1) Rheumatic fever is a serious illness for our community. How can we prevent it?

2) How do we get young people involved in the fight against rheumatic fever?

Year 11 to 13 (Seniors)

1) Rheumatic fever affects our families, our communities. We can all play a role in stopping it.

2) Why is it important to take a full course of antibiotics for a strep sore throat?

3) How do we get young people involved in the fight against rheumatic fever

The 2015 ASB Polyfest takes place at the ASB Sports Bowl from Wednesday, 18 March to Saturday, 21 March. Entry is $5 with pre-school children free of charge.

Key Details

Event: ASB Polyfest

Dates: 18 – 21 March 2015

Place: Manukau Sports Bowl, Te Irirangi Drive, Manukau

Entry: $5. Preschool children are free

Website: www.asbpolyfest.co.nz

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Schedule: Te_Whare_Wnanga_o_Awanuirangi_Maori_Stage_2015.pdf

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Interesting Facts - 2015 ASB Polyfest
Host Schools
Kura Matua School
Maori Stage Nga Puna O Waiorea – Western Springs College

Mana Kura Schools
Cook Islands Stage Aorere College
Diversity Stage Papatoetoe High School
Niue Stage Alfriston College
Samoan Stage Avondale College
Tongan Stage Northcote College

Festival Theme
“Enlightenment through Education”
Interesting Statistics
1. A total of 64 schools from the greater Auckland Region are participating at the 2015 ASB Polyfest, with 214 groups entered.

2. More than 10,000 students will perform over the 4 days.

3. It is expected more than 80,000 people will attend the festival over four days.

4. This is the 40th anniversary of the ASB Polyfest. It is the 31st year that ASB have been the naming rights sponsor for the event.

5. The festival has grown from small beginnings in 1976 when four schools took part -Seddon High School (now Western Springs), Aorere College, Mangere College and Hillary College (now Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate), to becoming the largest Maori and Pacific Island festival in the world.

6. Western Springs College Nga Puna o Waiorea is aiming for four consecutive Division One titles on the Te Whare Wanaga o Awanuiarangi Maori Stage at 3:25pm on Saturday, 21 March. Their strongest competition is likely to come from Te Wharekura o Hoani Waititi, Te Kapunga James Cook High School, Kahurangi Auckland Girls Grammar

7. Auckland Girls Grammar are looking for a three-peat of overall title on the MIT Niue Stage. They are on stage at 12noon on Saturday, 21 March.

8. Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate defend the overall title on the AUT University Cook Islands Stage at 2:15pm on Saturday, 21 March. Their biggest challenge is expected to come from 2013 winners Mangere College who are on stage at 1:35pm on Saturday.

9. A total of 66 groups will be performing on the ACG Diversity Stage on Thursday, 19 March and Friday, 20 March. There are 19 different cultures represented on the Diversity stage including Mongolian, Tibetan and Hawaiian groups.

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