Te Maeva Nui 2012 - Manihiki ura pau

Here's another item from the 2012 Maeva Nui cultural dance competition.
As with all drum dances, Manihiki's ura pau was  energetic and a real crowd pleaser.
It received an A grade from the judges.

Pukapuka kapa rima at Te Maeva Nui 2012

At last! Here's another short video from the 2012 Te Maeva Nui cultural dance competition.This is of the Pukapuka kapa rima (action song) for which they were awarded a B grade.
No time to write more as I'm about to catch a plane to New Zealand for a bit of a break.

Rarotonga's Sevens in Heaven 2012

It seems like ancient history but at last I’ve had time to finish editing a short video of the 2012 Sevens in Heaven, the Cook Islands annual international rugby sevens tournament.
It took place in November 2012 with sixteen men's teams taking part. Some were overseas teams, some of our sides had imported players while a couple were entirely local. There were no women’s teams this time but organisers are hoping for a women's section in 2013. It’s always popular with the spectators.
We were lucky with the weather once again with three days of sunshine. That must have made it hot work for the players but nevertheless there was plenty of on-field action.
And as usual the organisers arranged fancy dress, goal-kicking and dash-for-cash competitions as well as entertainment by the local zumba fraternity (or should that be sorority), the Swag It team. By the way, the poster frame for the video shows the Swag It team - unfortunately YouTube doesn't give you much choice of what picture to display.
According to Cook Islands News, “Day one of the Sevens in Heaven tournament on Thursday proved beyond doubt that this year’s competition is the strongest and toughest in the event’s 23-year history. Blistering runs, big hits and loads of fancy footwork were on display at the BCI Stadium on Thursday when all 16 teams had their first outing.”
In the end the Teimurimotia Stallions from Titikaveka took out the cup after defeating the Tauae Bulls in the grand final.
It was the Stallions’ first time in the tournament - being coached by sevens=legend Eric Rush obviously paid off!
The star-studded Bulls, led by Rene Ranger, are previous winners but 2012 was not their year as the Stallions beat them by 31-19.
Read more on the sevens in Cook Islands News here:
Sevens 1
Sevens 2
Sevens 3