Programme for 2024
Find out what's in store for 2024
The meaning of Inter-College
Whakawhānaukataka – A value that enables students to create connections and a sense of belonging.
The Inter-College Competition | Tauwhāinga Kāreti is a world-leading sport, cultural and games programme run for first-year residential college students.
If you love it so much you can't give it up at the end of your first year, we have plenty of opportunities available for alumni to stay involved.
The history of Inter-College
The Inter-College Programme was officially established in 2016. Before this the University Residential Colleges had many individual sporting competitions between themselves. In 2016, Unipol Recreation started an official Sports Competition between all Residential Colleges.
Initially the competition consisted of eight sports across the year including Basketball, Cricket, Futsal and Netball. The competition was developed further in 2017 to include three new sports: Rowing, Renegade Hockey, and Rugby 7s. In 2019, the programme branched into three separate competitions with the introduction of the Cultural and Games Competitions. This was a significant change which saw the calendar increase from 12 sports events to 28 events overall.
The programme was impacted massively by COVID-19 in 2020 with the nationwide lockdown forcing the cancellation of most events in Semester One. In response to this, an alternative online version of the competition was offered to students including events such as online quizzes, photography competitions, TikTok challenges, FIFA tournaments and online board games. The additional competition was labelled 'Let's Stay Connected'.
The programme has continued to develop and currently consists of over 20 events across the academic year.
Some of our highlight events
- University Collegiate sports day
- Quiz night
- Kī o Rahi Festival
- Waka Ama Festival
- Cultural performance evening
Homai te pakipaki (Give us a clap)
Pakipaki is what makes the Inter-College Competition special. This simple word encompasses the true meaning of the competition which is to applaud or clap. We see this word to mean more than just clapping, but to encourage and cheer on everyone.
You will see this value come to play in several different competitive and participation events, where students' encouragement of others truly defines the unique atmosphere of our events. This competition prides itself on its ability to help foster relationships and whānau through shared experiences, helping students create a first-year experience they will never forget.