Time 2 Train for pupils
School add training to get ready for multi sport event
For a group of Year 9 and 10 students at Tamatea High School, Wednesdays look very different.
They have swapped their devices, pens, paper, and classroom learning for a vigorous and intensive physical training schedule.
Time 2 Train Ma¯ ta¯ toa rolls into school with trailers in tow. Inside these trailers are bikes, waka, life jackets, and more.
The students are training towards a multi-sport event in December, Te Rima. The 101km course stretches from the Pacific to the Tasman Ocean. Horeke to Waitangi, West Coast to East Coast.
Deputy principal Nicky Anderson, says this is more than a training programme.
“Students learn in a te ao Ma¯ ori context, whereby te reo is spoken and tikanga is taught.”
Experienced and skilled instructors (kaiako) deliver the programme in te reo and English and cover tikanga, te reo, whakapapa, rongoa, mirimiri, maramataka, karakia, waiata, atua learnings, ha¯ kinakina — pahikara, kayaking, waka ama, waka hourua, surfing, snowboarding, and caving options.
Frank Haimona, the founder of Time 2 Train Ma¯ ta¯ toa, says that Ma¯ ori participation in endurance sports is increasing every year.
“It is not new to our culture, in fact, our tupuna were doing these things on a daily basis, from arriving here by waka, sailing and navigating their way from Hawaiki, hiking/walking to and from all different parts of Aotearoa, crossing rivers and seas, living off the land and so on. Therefore it is our whakapapa.”
Over the last eight years, Time 2 Train has developed and assisted in training, participation, and support to wha¯ nau, iwi, tauira, and participants to enter, and complete various challenges and events, including Coast to Coast, the Nugget Multisport Festival and Ironman.
The programme is being trialled in the school with the view of extending it to more students and across more levels next year, Nicky says.
“We are seeing greater engagement by the students in their classes and attendance has improved, especially on Wednesdays. The students are enjoying the opportunity to learn tikanga and becoming more physically active.”
Skylah Ria, a Year 10 student involved in the programme, says she loves having the chance to be out of the classroom learning new and exciting things.
The group is very excited about travelling up north in December for the Te Rima event. For some of the students, they have never left Hawke’s Bay.
The school is hoping to secure further funding for Time 2 Train Ma¯ ta¯ toa so the programme can continue into 2021 and extend into other year levels.