Some Critical Thoughts On Competitions by Alan Armstrong Scarcely a month passes without a sizeable Maori cultural competition being held in some part of the country, and there are probably very few major Maori entertainment groups which do not participate, at least once annually, in these competitive events. Competitions are very important occasions, and provide a new dimension in Maori cultural experience for many groups. There are an opportunity for parties from a large area to meet together and to combine fellowship with friendly rivalry—a rivalry which produces a sort of cross-pollination. By measuring its standards against those of other groups, each party enriches its experience, improves its quality and get new ideas in presentation and composition. Because they provide an entertaining and colourful spectacle, the competion concerts enable Maoritanga to reach out to a much wider audience (which often includes many Pakehas) than would be the case on a purely tribal occasion.

Some Less Desirable Features These, then, are the worthwhile aspects of competitions. There must be many readers, however, who have been concerned to note less desirable features. This article seeks to discuss the causes and effects of these, and to make a few suggestions for improvement. Among the most consistent features of many competitions today are poor organisation, unsatisfactory judging and sometimes a very poor attitude amongst some of the competitors. These first two are particularly important because they can cause frustration and ill-will amongst even the most well-meaning. Let us discuss organisation first. A clear and detailed set of rules is essential, otherwise competitors begin without knowing clearly what is expected of them. Groups that are situated away from the competition centre begin with a disadvantage, since they are seldom able to confer with the organisers until it is too late. These rules must define such points as what each team is expected to perform in the way of items before it can qualify for an aggregate prize (in any), whether original compositions are required, the system of marking, whether any conventions of dress such as moko are mandatory, and whether there is a requirement for any particular type and direction of entrance.

Vague Criteria for Judging Items Bad organisation is often the cause of unsatisfactory judging. The writer judged at a competition recently where he and his fellow judges were expected to judge all items—from whaikorero through poi, choir, action song and haka taparahi—against the same set of headings. These headings were ‘appearance’, ‘suitability of item’, ‘performance’, ‘leadership’, ‘communication’ (whatever that might be) and ‘overall impression’. Not only were these headings vague, but how could the same marking criteria be used for oratory as for poi? Each aspect of Maori culture has its own set of criteria. It is up to the judges and organisers to thrash these out beforehand and then to let the competitors know what they want. This is particularly necessary for the less-experienced groups.

Variation in Judging Standards Organisers of big competitions should consider the use of a judging panel. No judge can mark carefully, or criticise accurately, a series of different items following one after the other. It is best to have one judge who looks at the action song performed by each group, another who does haka, a third who does poi, and so on. This makes for more careful and less hurried judging, and helps dispel allegations of favouritism since no one judge marks all the items performed by each group. This brings us to the actual quality of the judging, and this is probably the most contentious point of all. At the moment there is considerable variation in standards and much displaying of personal preference. In one competition (where there were two judges for each