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National | Te Reo Māori

Te Reo Māori introduced at Halberg Awards

Te Reo Māori is taking centre stage at the prestigious Halberg Awards tonight.

New Zealand's sporting greats have gathered for the 55th Halberg Awards in Auckland. It is the country's pre-eminent event to honour and celebrate New Zealand sporting excellence.

And for the first time a Halberg Foundation Youth Council member, Thomas Chin, has chosen to perform a Māori karakia before the awards.

“To be here in such a big arena, and to have these opportunities to promote the Māori culture, is something that is a huge honour for me,” says Chin.

The hope is that the Māori language will be used in other events run by Halberg.

Sports broadcaster Te Arahi Maipi is proud to see such a prestigious event include the use of te reo Māori.

“The Halberg Foundation want to bring the inclusion of the Māori language to life,” says Maipi.

“If it flows, if we're able to mix Māori and English, then that's fantastic,” he says.

There will be many recipients tonight, but the real winner will be the Māori language.